Citizen Activities and Emancipation of the Homeless People. the Case of Poland

Contemporary citizenship encompasses the rights to equal treatment and participation of all citizens in social, economic and political life. Robert Dahl identified this inclusive citizenship as one of those institutions whose existence is essential in democratic states. By contrast, in Poland, a member state of the European Union, citizens in crisis of homelessness experience inequality and exclusion from various spheres of life. In the processes of social stigmatization and often apparent actions of the government, the narrative of degraded, that is, not fully valued and passive citizenship of the homeless is reproduced. At the same time, there is no shortage of examples of civic activities of the homeless. These activities recognize these people's pursuit of emancipation, i.e. empowerment, affirmation and/or 'disarming' of social stigma and reclaiming their civic rights. They are an emanation of the positive freedom that underpins the idea of democracy - the idea of citizenship.

The aim of the paper is to present various forms of civic activity of the homeless people and to reflect on the emancipation they trigger.

In order to achieve the goal formulated above, in the first part of the paper, the socio-institutional situation of the homeless people in Poland will be presented. This is a significant context for their civic activities, to which the second part of the paper will be devoted. These activities are examples of the mechanisms of self-regulation of democracy, which are considered as a measure of real political influence. They include, among others, taming stigma and making it visible; pro-social activities; demonstrations; 'fighting' for the right to the city and electoral rights; various forms of associations. In these activities, the essence and resources of civil society are reproduced and strengthened, and it further becomes possible to change the socio-political contexts in which homeless people function.