There will be many more homeless people in Athens in 2025 than there were in 2018

Number of homeless people in Athens increased significantly compared to 2018. Although that was when the last census was taken, all the data suggests that in recent years more and more people are finding themselves on the streets – mainly due to addiction to alcohol or drugs.

As I told you Deputy Mayor for Social Solidarity and Equality Maria Stratigaki on the air of the program “Συνδέσεις” on EPTnewsthe goal of the new census is not just to count the number of homeless people, but also to understand the reasons that lead people to live on the streets, as well as to develop effective support measures.

There will be many more homeless people in Athens in 2025 than there were in 2018 pic.twitter.com/sfMar5j1OL

— Athens News (@russianathens) October 23, 2025

“It’s hard to convince them to go to shelters. Many suffer from mental disorders, others do not want to leave their usual places where they beg.”noted Maria Stratigaki.

First census since 2018

“On Monday evening something happened that hasn’t happened since 2018. Three hundred peopledivided into 60 teamswalked throughout the center of Athens to find and talk to homeless people. We tried to find out why they were on the street. This is a very important study, because all major cities in the world are doing something similar to understand the real characteristics of homelessness“, the official said.

According to her, the processing of the collected data takes place with the participation of Department of Social Policy at Pantio Universitywho is scientifically responsible for the project. The final results are planned to be published in November.

Rising number of homeless people and difficulties in helping

“We already know that there are significantly more homeless people than in 2018. This is primarily due to the increase in the number of people addicted to alcohol and drugs who live on the streets. Our assumptions are already confirmed by the collected data.”– added Maria Stratigaki.

The census includes not only those who sleep on the streets, but also everyone who is temporarily housed in shelters or humanitarian structures. “We consider everyone homeless who does not have permanent housing, whether they are guests municipal shelters or organizations like “Doctors of the World” And UN. They all need a permanent home.” – she emphasized.

Speaking about the difficulties faced by social services, Stratigaki noted: “It is very difficult to convince some people to move into a shelter. Some people don’t trust the system, others don’t want to leave their usual places. But we must understand these reasons in order to develop real and effective support measures“

Source link