When chickens come home to roost. A failed attempt at public accountability: homelessness

Abstract

After the restoration of democracy in Spain, the development of a public social services system (PSSS) represented a change in terms of the attention paid to homeless people. But almost thirty years later, this remains one of the least developed areas within the so-called fourth pillar, welfare. Using a socio-historical approach, this article analyses the limitations that this change has implied. Specific attention is paid to the lack of connection between the public social services system and other social policy areas, as well as to the scant development that has been achieved in respect of the former. There is finally an examination of the unequal participation and responsibility of the various public authorities with relation to homelessness.