--- title: "Shelter and settlements" description: "Losing one’s home and community is devastating. Shelter and settlements support is the foundation of humanitarian assistance for people who have been displaced. Providing a safe place for families and communities to call \"home\" can be life-saving." url: "https://www.nrc.no/what-we-do/activities-in-the-field/shelter" language: "en" published: "2016-05-22T12:13:26Z" modified: "2026-04-28T13:26:23Z" --- ![Norwegian Refugee Council areas of expertise: Shelter and settlements.](https://www.nrc.no/globalassets/images/core-comp/shelter/shelter-and-settlements_nrc-orange.jpg) # Shelter and settlements An NRC staff member works alongside the indigenous Jiw community in Colombia to build homes and community structures. After years of displacement, they have returned to their ancestral land. Photo: Edwin Tinjacá/NRC Losing one’s home and community is devastating. Shelter and settlements support is the foundation of humanitarian assistance for people who have been displaced. Providing a safe place for families and communities to call "home" can be life-saving. Updated 28. Apr 2026 [Global](https://www.nrc.no/themes?categoryId=23) ## Our expertise in shelter and settlements The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) provides physical safety, an identity and a foundation for recovery through its shelter and settlement programming. Working hand-in-hand with other NRC activities in the field through an integrated approach, we aim to **create homes and build communities** to protect people from the risks of displacement and enable them to live in dignity. We believe that reaching our collective impact of protection and dignity is a process. This starts with saving lives by facilitating access to temporary shelter during the emergency phase, and continues even in protracted displacement, and for durable solutions. The shelter and settlements response is based on learning from displaced people what makes a shelter a home and how to transform a settlement into a community. #### A total of **1,399,503** people benefited from our shelter and settlements work in 2025. NRC Global Development Strategy for Shelter and Settlements 2020-2025 By the end of 2025, our work will be developed through participatory approaches. Shelter is a process rather than just a product. Through a more holistic design of our projects, we will deepen our expertise in providing safe and inclusive assistance suitable to the length of displacement. We will be a key player in environmental issues and access to clean energy in shelter and settlements, and will enable the wider sector through our expertise and tools. We will focus on defining our settlements-based approach as an opportunity for meaningful sectoral integration supporting pathways to self-reliance, and we will be able to document positive change. [Download the shelter and settlements strategy here.](https://www.nrc.no/resources/policy-doc/global-shelter-and-settlements-strategy-2022-2025) **Contact details:** For more information on NRC's shelter and settlements activities, please contact: **Amelia Rule** Global Shelter and Settlements Lead [amelia.rule@nrc.no](mailto:amelia.rule@nrc.no) ### Latest news ## [Moyiré is rebuilding her life far from home](https://www.nrc.no/perspectives/2026/moyire-is-rebuilding-her-life-far-from-home) 15. Oct 2026 | Mali ## [Sudanese refugees in Chad: "We left hell"](https://www.nrc.no/feature/2026/sudanese-refugees-in-chad-we-left-hell) 01. Oct 2026 | Feature ## [Rebuilding after displacement in South Sudan](https://www.nrc.no/perspectives/2026/rebuilding-after-displacement-in-south-sudan) 29. Sep 2026 | South Sudan [More news](https://www.nrc.no/search?searchCategories=123,125,172,335,162&searchMethod=1) ### Latest publications ## [Exposed on all sides](https://www.nrc.no/resources/reports/exposed-on-all-sides) 20. Aug 2026 | Palestine ## [The Good Rental Market Manual](https://www.nrc.no/resources/manuals/the-good-rental-market-manual) 01. Jul 2025 ## [NRC assisted 9.1 million people in 2024](https://www.nrc.no/feature/2025/nrc-assisted-9.1-million-people-in-2024) 07. May 2025 | Report [More reports](https://www.nrc.no/search?searchCategories=124,131,132,175,178,314,329,351,162&searchMethod=1) ### NRC's areas of expertise - [Education](https://www.nrc.no/what-we-do/activities-in-the-field/education) Displacement has a devastating impact on learning, and often leads to education being interrupted or denied. NRC works to ensure that children and youth forced to flee can access high-quality, safe, inclusive and relevant learning opportunities. - [Information, counselling and legal assistance (ICLA)](https://www.nrc.no/what-we-do/activities-in-the-field/icla) People forced to flee frequently lose access to rights and services. Legal frameworks can either perpetuate displacement and discrimination or serve as instruments of protection and durable solutions. NRC assists people to navigate these frameworks, so they can exercise their rights. - [Livelihoods and food security](https://www.nrc.no/what-we-do/activities-in-the-field/food-security) During conflicts and disasters, food production and market systems face collapse. People can lose their assets and even their ability to earn a living. NRC works to ensure that people forced to flee can exercise their right to an adequate standard of living. - [Protection from violence](https://www.nrc.no/what-we-do/activities-in-the-field/protection-from-violence) When people are forced to flee their homes, they often experience ongoing threats to their safety. NRC help to ensure displaced people are protected, by preventing and responding to violence, coercion, and actions taken by others to deny them their rights. - [Shelter and settlements](https://www.nrc.no/what-we-do/activities-in-the-field/shelter) Losing one’s home is devastating. Many people forced to flee are struggling to find a safe place to stay, leaving them exposed to risks like weather, illnesses and violence. NRC supports people with housing within safe and healthy settlements. - [Water, sanitation and hygiene](https://www.nrc.no/what-we-do/activities-in-the-field/water-sanitation-and-hygiene-wash) Access to clean water and sanitation facilities is among the most urgent of all needs. Without proper sanitation, water supplies can become contaminated and disease can spread rapidly. NRC works to ensure that people forced to flee have access to safe water. ![Shelter and settlements icon](https://www.nrc.no/globalassets/graphics/icons/_new-nrc-icons-2020/shelter_rgb-orange-circle.png)