Homelessness can be defined by a broad and inclusive definition such as that adopted by the United Nations when it declared the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless. According to this definition, a “homeless” person is not only someone without a domicile who lives on the street or in a shelter, but can equally be someone without access to shelter meeting the basic criteria considered essential for health and human and social development. These criteria would include secure occupancy, protection against bad weather, and personal security, as well as access to sanitary facilities and potable water, education, work, and health services. The right to a home must be seen as a basic humanitarian principle, recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, and housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.