The number of people living on the streets in the European Union is growing steadily. In order to combat this phenomenon EU launched a large-scale study involving 15 cities from different countries.
Local NGOs register and collect data on people living on the streets or in homeless shelters. A homeless census has begun in Hungary. In Budapest, an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 people live on the streets and around 5,000 live in shelters in the Hungarian capital. Many people stop there just to spend the night.
In one of the parks in the Pest area journalists Euronews met people who do not have a roof over their heads, although they used to live quite well. One of them complains:
“I worked as a cook in a place in the city center. Unfortunately, during the covid pandemic, the hospitality industry went into decline. I couldn’t find a way out. First I lost my job, then my apartment, then my girlfriend.”
“Do you have any income?” the correspondent asks the man sitting next to him. “Nothing. None at the moment. I’ll go back to work, and then I’ll have everything, I just need to get myself in order,” he replies.
Located on Vajdahunyad Street homeless shelter of the “Shelter” Foundationit has been in operation since the 90s and looks like a nursing home. Euronews’ interlocutor ended up there after six years of “street” life:
“This is a good place. I have everything I need. It's peaceful here.”
The foundation decided to find out how many people in Budapest are homeless. And next year a census of homeless people outside the Hungarian capital is planned. The research is carried out with financial support from the EU. In addition to Budapest, 15 cities from ten countries of the community are participating. Chairman of the Menhely Alapítvány Foundation Peter Györi says:
“The European Union is conducting a major international study. The aim is to assess the extent and study the structure of homelessness in 10 countries, based on a common approach and common methodology, in order to provide targeted support to reduce the number of homeless people.”
According to statistics for 2023 (from a report published by FEANTSA), approximately 890,000 people in the European Union live on the streets or in homeless shelters.
In Austria, about six months ago they decided to remove homeless people from the streets:
This is how the census of homeless people in Russia went:
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