Lessons from FHA’s First Regional Conference in Latin America
The Famvin Homeless Alliance’s first regional conference in Latin America marked an important moment of collaboration, learning, and renewed commitment for the Vincentian Family. Held in Lima, Peru, on May 4–5, 2026, at the Provincial House of the Daughters of Charity, the conference gathered nearly one hundred Vincentian leaders and practitioners from 21 countries around a shared theme: “Building homes, dignifying lives: Vincentian charism and social teaching of the Church.”
As the title suggests, the gathering invited participants to deepen the connection between Catholic Social Teaching, the Vincentian charism, and concrete responses to homelessness across Latin America and the Caribbean. It was designed not only as a space for formation, but also as a catalyst for action. Over two days, participants reflected on the roots and realities of poverty in the region, the growing challenges of human mobility and migration, and the many ways homelessness is linked to violence, climate change, lack of access to housing, health, and education.
The conference program offered a mix of keynote presentations, roundtables, workshops, prayer, and testimonies. Sessions explored the principles of Catholic Social Teaching in light of the Vincentian tradition, the relationship between human mobility and homelessness, and practical approaches such as homelessness prevention, social housing, cash-based support programs, and advocacy at both local and global levels. Participants also heard about existing 13 Houses Campaign projects in countries such as Guatemala, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru, as well as systemic responses involving networks and organizations working with migrants and people experiencing homelessness.
One of the strongest learnings from the conference was the need to understand homelessness in the region as a broad and complex reality. In Latin America and the Caribbean, homelessness is not limited to people sleeping on the streets. It includes families displaced by poverty, communities affected by violence, migrants forced to leave their homes in search of safety and survival, and people whose housing is made precarious by domestic violence, climate change, or economic insecurity. For many participants, the conference helped clarify this wider understanding and offered a framework for recognizing homelessness in their own communities.
Another key learning was the importance of advocacy. While the Vincentian Family has a long and generous tradition of direct service, the conference highlighted that service must be accompanied by efforts to address the systems and policies that produce exclusion, poverty and homelessness. Advocacy can sometimes feel unfamiliar or even risky in contexts marked by political tensions, but participants were encouraged to see it as an essential dimension of Vincentian action and Catholic social teaching: standing with people who are excluded, listening to their experiences, and working for conditions that uphold their dignity and rights.
The gathering also showed the value of shared experiences. Testimonies from people affected by homelessness and migration, along with examples from Vincentian projects in different countries, helped participants see that meaningful change is possible through simple, consistent, and collaborative action. Many described the conference as enriching, motivating, clarifying, and integrating. The atmosphere of fraternity and friendship allowed people from different national contexts to recognize common challenges and to imagine common solutions.
Participant feedback confirmed the positive impact of the event. Speakers and workshops were especially appreciated, and networking opportunities were also rated strongly. Beyond the numbers, the comments revealed renewed hope and energy. Participants valued the chance to learn from one another, to strengthen ties across the region, and to connect local realities with FHA’s wider mission.
The outcomes of the conference were both practical and spiritual. In the short term, participants committed to sharing what they had learned, convening local Vincentian Family meetings, identifying people and communities most affected by homelessness, and beginning or strengthening project planning. Many also expressed a desire to assess homelessness in their own communities so that future action can be rooted in evidence and local experience. In the medium term, participants hoped to develop concrete project proposals, expand partnerships with local organizations, strengthen advocacy efforts, and organize further training to build local capacity.
For FHA, the conference also confirmed several priorities for the years ahead. These include sharing conference materials, providing better data on homelessness, offering formation on project development and advocacy, supporting young Vincentian leaders, disseminating FHA’s Local Advocacy Toolkit, and helping countries that have not yet developed 13 Houses projects. The issue of migration and human mobility emerged with particular urgency as one of the most visible manifestations of homelessness in the region and an area where deeper collaboration will be needed.
The Lima conference was also a reminder that effective action grows from Vincentian collaboration. The FHA is deeply grateful for the generosity and hospitality of the Daughters of Charity in Peru, the collaboration of the Vincentian Family in Peru, and the contribution of facilitators, speakers, and volunteers all helped create a space where learning could become commitment. Prayer and spirituality were woven into the gathering, grounding discussions in the Gospel call to serve Christ in people who experience poverty, are excluded, and without a secure place to call home.
Above all, the conference strengthened awareness of homelessness in its many forms, deepened the link between faith and action, and mobilized participants toward practical next steps. it renewed a shared conviction at the heart of the FHA: that building homes is also about dignifying lives, restoring hope, and walking together as one Vincentian Family.
Natalie Monteza,
13 Houses Campaign Coordinator
