For four and a half years, I have been living in Germany. In the forest. A kilometer and a half to the village. 300 meters to the forest reserve, with a drying lake. I have a few dozen kilometers to Hamburg. And for the past two years, I've been seeing more and more homeless people and beggars on the streets of Hamburg.
According to a report presented by the Federal Working Group for Homeless Assistance (BAG, a union of organizations helping the homeless) in Germany, there are currently over half a million homeless people, with 50,000 of them living directly on the streets.
Yesterday, I encountered one of them, lying in a sleeping bag at the entrance to Dammtor station. Right next to the Radisson hotel and the business market.
Over the year from 2021 to 2022, the number of homeless people in Germany increased by over half. Only 5% more were German homeless, while there was a 118% increase in homeless foreigners who had never had a permanent residence in Germany. I think I come across such people when I go to Schanzenpark or walk through St. Pauli, where there are many refugees/immigrants.
Among German homeless people, 57% lose their homes due to job loss, 21% due to rent and energy debt, family conflicts 20%, separation/divorce 16%.
According to Wereny Rosenke, managing director of BAG, the most at-risk of homelessness are single individuals with low incomes, single parents, and large families.
A significant cause of growing homelessness is the decreasing supply of social and municipal housing. According to BAG's calculations, this has dropped from 1801 thousand in 1989 to 1088 thousand now. Presumably, a significant part of this decline is due to the privatization of housing stock in the former East Germany, which was part of the Soviet bloc until 1989.
According to Wereny Rosenke, the government's plan to address homelessness by 2030, through the construction of 100 thousand homes per year, is unrealistic. There is a need for many more homes and preventive measures, including assistance in repaying rent debt.
The photo is from Hanover in 2021. I generally don't take pictures of the homeless and beggars. They have the right to privacy and respect. And to have a coin thrown their way. Because if you're reading this, you're in a better situation than they are.
I also know from my own experience how easily illness, in my case, depression, can bring a person to the brink of homelessness. And it leads to addiction, which is the only anesthesia in the disease.
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