A/HRC/34/51/Add.2 suggesting there is no firm grasp of the extent of the problem and no consistent methodology to count homeless persons. Without a more accurate picture of the population of the homeless – not just numbers but their needs – it will be difficult to address their situation effectively. The composition of the current homeless population seems to have changed as a result of the financial crisis, with more young adults facing homelessness than in past decades, owing to the high rates of unemployment and the lack of affordable housing. Some regional variations are known; Porto, for example, has a larger per capita rate of homeless persons than Lisbon. 50. The first National Strategy for the Integration of Homeless Persons (Estratégia Nacional para a Integração de Pessoas Sem-abrigo) for the period 2009-2015 has been praised as a strategy based on the right to housing, with the explicit aim of addressing social exclusion. The goals of the strategy are based on two axes: (a) information, fighting against discrimination, and education; and (b) decision-making with regard to interventions (see HRI/CORE/PRT/2014). Coming from a country that in recent decades has had to come to terms with a number of important social and economic transformations, without a robust or long-established welfare system, it is exceptional to witness a strategy that views homelessness as “a consequence of a wide range of individual, organisation and structural hindrances, rather than simply a housing or a social problem.” 18 51. The process that led to the development of the above-mentioned strategy is considered highly effective and participatory, ensuring opportunities for the engagement of a wide-range of local organizations and authorities to raise views through, for example, a comprehensive questionnaire. More than 2,100 homeless people were interviewed and their views considered. As a result, it was possible to develop a nuanced view of the situation, understanding that homelessness is not just “rough sleeping”, but also comprises living in unconventional settings, such as cars and abandoned buildings, situations of emergency accommodation, and temporary accommodation in pensions or rented rooms. Priority cities for intervention were Braga, Porto, Aveiro, Coimbra, Lisbon, Setubal and Faro. 19 The strategy helped in the development of a common definition of homelessness, and promoted better coordination among services. 52. Several stakeholders recognize that the development and adoption of the strategy, the first of its kind in southern Europe, has led to positive change in encouraging local responses to homelessness. The Special Rapporteur was encouraged to learn that some municipalities, such as in Porto, had undertaken activities that went well beyond those proposed by the strategy. 53. Several obstacles have, however, stood in the way of the full implementation of the strategy, in particular the lack of transparency in resource allocation, weak horizontal coordination at the State level, and a failure to implement monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.20 Furthermore, an evidence-base assessment of the impact of the measures does not seem to have been made; an assessment of this type would, however be particularly useful, given that a new strategy is expected to be developed and implemented in the near future. Also, it was noted that a new strategy ought to give more importance to the prevention of homelessness and to ensuring that mechanisms to break the poverty cycle such as job training and alternatives for income generation, are embedded in it. 18 19 20 12 Isabel Baptista, “Strategically Moving Forward in Combatting Homelessness in Spain”, European Journal of Homelessness, vol. 10, No. 2, December 2016, p. 94. Ibid. Ibid., p. 96.