International Year of Shelter for the Homeless

The International Year of Shelter for the Homeless (IYSH) was recognized in 1987 by the United Nations.

[2] It was mainly aimed at improving shelter / housing for the poor in general (and not just homeless people), especially in developing countries.

In several countries, national actions were created, such as Australia which created an IYSH Secretariat, or the United Kingdom where a trust was created to collect donations from housing associations for shelter projects in developing countries, with some projects part-funded by the Overseas Development Administration.

The trust later evolved into the NGO Homeless International (now operating as Reall, or Real Equity for All).

The World Habitat Awards were created by the BSHF as their contribution to the IYSH.