In Europe, where you start in life still largely shapes where you end up. Yet, European policies too often fail to address the structural barriers that lock young people into disadvantage. Without support to access stable housing many enter adulthood trapped by circumstances they did not choose, allowing intergenerational poverty to persist.
Removed from her mother’s care due to neglect and addiction-related instability, Ana[1] grew up in institutional care in the Basque Country, Spain. When she turned 18, that protection system ended. With no family network to rely on, her transition towards autonomy began from structural absence of security. As she puts it: “My life has been a constant struggle to move forward and build some stability.”
Ana’s story is not an exception. It reflects a wider pattern across Europe, where poverty in not only experienced individually, it is also often inherited. Being young already denotes vulnerability, but for those from disadvantaged backgrounds, the challenges are greater. In 2023, 20% of adults (aged 25-59) who grew up in financially struggling households were at risk of poverty at age of 14, compared to 12.4% among those raised in better conditions. Parental education tells a similar story: adults with low-educated parents face a 19.1% at-risk-of-poverty rate, compared to 8.5% among those whose parents attained tertiary education. The pattern is clear: in the EU, where you start in life shapes where you end up.
The decisive moment when inequality begins to either harden or dissipate often comes at the threshold of adulthood. For many, this transition means losing vital support systems and facing new forms of vulnerability. Ana’s experience shows how these challenges can accumulate. In this context, access to stable housing emerges as a crucial anchor. Without it, the path toward education, work and social inclusion becomes far more uncertain.
Research by Eurofound shows that young people face disproportionate exposure to housing exclusion and insecurity, unaffordable costs and inadequate living conditions. But for those in the most vulnerable situations, housing insecurity is not a phase — it becomes the mechanism through which childhood disadvantage is carried into adulthood. Yet recent European policy responses — namely the European Commission’s Affordable Housing Plan and the European Parliament’s recommendations on the housing crisis — only partially address this stark reality. While the Affordable Housing Plan refers to the steep barriers that young people from disadvantaged backgrounds face, its measures focus primarily on students, trainees and apprentices. Initiatives such as student housing, deposit reductions and co-living schemes are crucial, but mainly target those already partly integrated into the system.
Young people most at risk, such as care leavers, caregivers, homeless, those trapped in administrative limbo, unemployed or not in education, or those who have disabilities, are largely sidelined by these responses. This reveals a narrow understanding of youth vulnerability: one that overlooks how housing exclusion stems from deeper structural and intersecting disadvantages. Poverty is a multi-dimensional phenomenon, and housing exclusion does not always align with educational or training categories. The Commission’s recent Strategy on Intergenerational Fairness rightly calls on Member States to think long-term, acknowledging how today’s decisions will shape the life chances of future generations. Yet, its impact will remain limited if it treats housing and poverty as unrelated challenges. Without that link, the factors of inequality transmission remain untackled, with housing precarity fueling intergenerational poverty. Grassroots experiences confirm this. As Oskar, a social worker at Caritas Bizkaia’s (Spain) youth support project Gandarias Extea, explains: “A stable home is the foundation of everything. Without it, education breaks down and the employment search becomes unstable. Housing security reduces stress, improves health and allows young people to see themselves as autonomous, capable adults.” This is precisely why housing cannot be treated as just another policy area. Housing is a right – the roof sheltering all other opportunities.
Across Europe, local initiatives already demonstrate what works: person-centred approaches that combine stable housing with access to tailored information, along with legal, educational and psycho-social support. All grounded in dignity, agency and relationships of trust built over time. Such approaches treat young people not as temporary “beneficiaries”, but as citizens with rights, aspirations and potential. All young people have the right to get support, but one size does not fit all. Those in the most vulnerable situations require targeted backing. The question remains: do housing policies embrace equity by addressing complex needs or only those easiest to meet?
Despite recent initiatives, the European approach remains quite fragmented, but the upcoming Anti-Poverty Strategy presents a clear opportunity to address this gap. However, a strategy that does not prioritise housing will not break the cycle of intergenerational transmission of disadvantage. And housing policies that do not confront structural inequalities will not lift people out of poverty. The two must go hand in hand.
This demands political courage and a renewed commitment to human dignity – the kind we hope the Commission will demonstrate in the Anti-Poverty Strategy, as well as through the announced Affordable Housing Act and Council Recommendation on Fighting Housing Exclusion. But EU ambition alone will not be enough: Member States, regions and local authorities must match it with concrete action and adequate investment. Policies must be bold enough to tackle structural and intersecting disadvantages head-on, because as Ana reminds us: “Young people aren’t struggling due to laziness or irresponsibility. We’re trapped in a system and context that makes it nearly impossible to build a stable, decent life.”
[1] The name has been changed to protect the person’s identity
Maria Nyman
Maria Nyman is secretary general of Caritas Europa, one of the seven regions of Caritas Internationalis, the global confederation of Catholic charity organisations. She has a master’s in law from the University of Uppsala in Sweden and years of experience in advocating for social rights and inclusion at European level
