Its not very common here, but you do see it in our high street, given the number of abandoned closed shops there are around. I have never given to the homeless directly, but I have given to one of the charities that deal with the homeless.
It’s getting worse in a lot of places, especially post-pandemic. Rising rents, stagnant wages, and lack of affordable housing create a perfect storm. The numbers are heartbreaking, but what really gets me is how normalized it’s become. Like people just step over it, both literally and politically.
It isn’t an issue in my immediate environment but homelessness is a nationwide problem, particularly in large cities. It doubled in recent years due to the influx of refugees. The figures I found relate to 2024 and are likely to rise.
It’s the worst in the UK with 42 people per 10,000 people, followed by France (30), Check Rep.(28) and Germany (26/10,000).
I think there are other factors at play than just the arrival of people seeking asylum. In fact, if asked, one might state that it is more plausible to see the impact of the policies of austerity on homelessness. But if you’ve definite information that asylum seekers cause homelessness I would be very interested in how that cause and affect works.
Homelessness is a big problem where I live in Denver, Colorado (USA). Most of the homeless live downtown in tents pitched on sidewalks, but there are also homeless encampments at various places along highways.
Housing prices have gone through the roof in Colorado – so much that some of the homeless actually work full time but still can’t get off the streets!
Some homeless people live in their cars. They need their cars to get to work, and I guess it provides a little security from violence, which I’ve read is a big problem for people living on the streets – so much so that some homeless people stay awake at night for protection and then sleep during the day when it’s safer.
I couldn’t imagine how boring it must be to live on the streets. That on top of hunger and cold in the winter, plus having to sleep on concrete. What a miserable existence it must be. What gives them the will to go on living?
1 Like
Sorry for the delay. I was told that my reply would have to be approved by the moderator.
The point was not to list the usual suspects like unemployment, illness, accident, addiction, strokes of fate which may set a downward spiral of poverty in motion which finally forces people out of their homes. These permanent factors wouldn’t account for that marked rise in homeless people. Nor would other factors like the neglect of social housing, index-linked rents, and subletting for tourism purposes via portals such as Airbnb or landlords preferring to terminate tenancies in order to re-let the apartments at higher prices, especially in the case of older tenancy agreements explain the sharp increase in homelessness. It’s exceptional effects that do.
The causal chain starts with the sheer number of immigrants and refugees coming to Germany who don’t find a job because they aren’t qualified for our labour market. They neither have sufficient language skills nor marketable professional skills and would have to be trained first. Way too many of them get stuck in the already strained social welfare system which makes them a vulnerable group. Due to a tight housing market they can’t be offered a social flat in the protected market and they can’t afford to rent a flat in the free market either even if they have a job because it’s badly paid. The vast majority of immigrants is unable to change the precarious conditions they are in and faces the risk of getting homeless when the above mentioned factors kick in.
Clearly, there’s a scarcity of affordable housing and each new government promises to do something about it but that is not the root of the problem. Immigration is, since it worsens the situation. In the case of Germany, institutions like the Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Wohnungslosenhilfe (Federal Working Group on Assistance for the Homeless) and practitioners acting on a local level agree that the growth in homeless people is primarily due to a rising number of non-Germans, especially refugees from Ukraine. A differentiation between German and non-German homeless people shows an increase of five percent for German homeless people but 118 percent for non-German homeless people. (see charts)
There are, of course, a couple of other factors like bureaucratic regulations, discrimination, housing speculation, etc., that aggravate the situation.
1 Like
Same, provided a reply, awaiting approval. Fool me for spelling m1grant correctly.
Thanks for your detailed and considered response.
I agree that the “usual suspects” are not the issue - these are causes that can lead to loss of dwelling, but are not in themselves what causes prolonged homelessness.
I’d also thank you for making me aware of different issues in different countries. And for separating asylum seekers from migrants allowed in from distressed countries. These are two different influxes that are treated differently and create different problems and knock on effects.
I think you perhaps hit on the main issues where migration causes an impact on housing. That is, governments are good at big gestures (allowing people in from distressed countries as an act of humanity). But much less good at thinking through and funding the consequences of a large influx. This exact issue has caused a huge rise in violent, gang related crime in Sweden. There was a large influx and a good effort to house these new arrivals. But the nice housing (large blocks of low rise buildings) were set up in areas on the outskirts of cities - poor transport, low work opportunities, separation from the existing population. The result is disillusioned youth, illegal activities to gain money, gangs and gang violence - and close to no integration into the local society.
All this aligns, I think, with your observations.
I would add in top down housing cost pressure. All the above point to bottom up pressure on social and low cost housing - making them less available. But equally (depending on the country and the local market, maybe more so) is top down price pressure. As the wealthy get more rich they then seek uses for their money - investments to generate payback. A good and steady return is almost always possible from property. So the rich buy up property. This pushes up prices at all levels. And this top down price pressure soon moves even ordinary housing out of the affordability of the majority. This lack of affordable housing also causes homelessness - especially the not-visible, such as sleeping in cars, sofa surfing, etc.
2 Likes
When i was working pre retirement i had a small company providing services, ie cleaning rented properties for rental agents & Industrial window cleaning etc; I’d done this work for some 15years and employed 15 people, So you could say it was a proven way of earning a living,
One of my customers was MARKS & SPENCER in the city centre
In the doorway every day was down and outs I was told to remove them befor the store opened it’s doors to the public, One man became a regular user of the doorway and he had a small dog with him and I made the mistake of giving this man 50pence every morning to get the dog something to eat, Well this one morning i did not have any loose change on me and I was asked for “the 50pence” I said i did"nt have it today And as i turned to start cleaning the window a passing window cleaner screamed “LOOK OUT” i turned and felt a sharp pain in my arm, He’d stabbed me with a Biro pen, Lucky enough it had not broken my skin and a passing Police man saw what happend, He was not charged as he was known to the police and they said he was suffering a mental illness
It’s a shame some of these people have no one to look after them and they end up living on the streets,.
It is also a shame when there are services but the homeless/ill choose not to use those services.
All councils say they do not have the funds which is a mistruth.
One only needs to see the obscene amount of money spent on unnecessary infrastructure.
100s of millions of dollars is wasted every year but when it comes to allocating extra funds for those in dire need? - no funds
Can only guess, some homeless folks may feel safer under the stars than in a commune.
1 Like
Or it is likely they don’t like having to adhere to rules and regulations, or may have a dog that is likely to be unwelcome. I once reported someone for sleeping on the church steps opposite my London flat. Two people came out to speak to him and reported back to me that he had declined any help/bed for the night. Or they have been threatened by others in the same situation, or robbed. It must be so hard for them to feel safe anywhere there’s loads of others, even in the same situation. Sadly no answer.
1 Like
This situation is very much like the way a lot of people have decided to work for an employer even when they both hate the jobs they do and just carry on doing the same old task day after day,
But some other people do things the old ways of earning a living such as was done way back in time such as trading the goods they made or had grown,
I myself found that when i decided to work for myself i had no silly idea’s of working less hours or laying in bed half the day, But it was not long until i found i could earn more day by day & week by week than when i worked for any of the verious employers I’d given my time to,
My mind was always active as to looking out for ways to improve my efforts & better my income,
A lot of people as ive said before fall into the trap of not looking around themselves and just want a wage packet in the hand every week,
When it comes to being living in doorways etc !!! How many people have not looked for bettering life as they have known it ?
2 Likes
My guess would be that the vast majority of people who are sleeping rough would prefer not to be sleeping rough. The fact that they continue to sleep rough strongly implies that there is something(s) preventing them “bettering” their life. Because so many are stuck sleeping rough that surely means that will power and desire to improve things is not sufficient.
It sounds way too simplistic, indeed possibly insulting, to just say they need to get on and better their life.
1 Like
Hi Lincolnshire,
Many thanks for taking the time & effort to give your thought on this subject of people & the problems they have come across in life.
You’ve said “It sounds to simplistic & indeed possibly insulting to say they need to get on and better their lives”
But you have not said or given any advice on what they should do?
I did not and would not try to Insult any one because they have fallen down lifes Ladder,
I have said & I’ll say it again but in a different way “No free meals” if you need help and it is not given then your on the road to even more lost time in your life If you do not do something for your good of your self,
If anyone wants to look around at what some people have to deal with through no dealings of their own, if life & on a for ever situation with No cure’s for a future,
Ie the loss of sight/hearing/
Illness beyound their doing “but still they soldier on” and hope for a better future, If we all gave up you’d soon find we do not have enough doorways to use ,
These are the true people who Im talking about, Many people have crosses in life to carry, bad childhoods etc, But this is’nt a natural way to destroy your life,
But as ive said thank you for at least offering your view on this one, Lets hope between us we have shown our thoughts and perhaps it may bring to mind to some of our forum how lucky those of us are in that we have stood up to lifes test.
1 Like
Trust me, if I had any sort of idea what the homeless should do to get themselves out of their dire situation, then certainly I would be sharing it far and wide.
What I am pointing out is that it seems evident that without external help people who are homeless (by which I mean sleeping rough) find it very, very difficult to break from that situation. The challenges faced are clearly so great that simply willing a better future does not make better future happen. Not having been homeless I cannot comprehend what these challenges are - but one can imagine:
- unable to get a job because no address, difficulty getting washed, difficulty get clean & presentable clothes, difficulty in travel, irregular place of overnight location
- unable to get a bank account as no money, no address and possibly bad financial track record and therefore definitely unable to borrow money
- unable to get secure accommodation because of all of above
And that is before challenges like the temptation of alcohol or drugs, the threats from others, the risks of mental instability from all of this.
All of that convinces me that external help and support is necessary and essential to get people out from sleeping rough. And if that help is sufficient, can also get people back into paid work and into contributing to society.
1 Like
Hi Lincolshire,
We talk again,
You write a very worth while comment And for us normal every day life sort of people it is hard to understand how these situations are allowed to continue without the very powers to be not bothering to do something possitive to help,
We seem to have a golden cup full of money etc for people from other countries"who have not" put a penny into our country, "Yet we pull them off the boat’s and they recieve medical help as soon as they are on shore, "yet we have waiting list only for those who have a right to medical help they have paid into But they have to go onto a waiting list and continue with the pain involved (Hip problems etc etc etc) We provide help with land to park on for the travellers who come from who knows where, Yet we’re on hand to let these people run around and do as they see fit, both as far as motoring offences go & crime It’s even been proved the Police will not go on these travellers sites without back up due to fear of violence to them selves !! yet they are there with the local coucils blessing!
The UK is becoming a pit hole in so many ways and a lot of it is because the powers to be are not of the mold needed to do the job of running the country, We as the normal No silver spoon from birth know this but you do not promote the good worker when the time comes, you continue with who you know, “jobs for the boys” as long as they support cradel to grave hand out slops,
It has been a long time since anyone has been seen as a good Leader for the common man,
Anyone who is willing to work the funds out and sort out who should be looked after,
It must be very hard to run a country, we the average person has no idea whats involved ,
We only see what we are needed to see and no more,
But Lincolnshire
lets hope in our life times we see some changes for the good,
But just now i think you’ll agree with me, some of these so called powers tobe would give an Asrin a head ache,
1 Like
Before housing prices went through the roof, a homeless person could find a job – even a menial job – and within a couple weeks have enough money for the deposit and the first month’s rent on an apartment. That was when you could rent an apartment for $300-400 a month. Today, the average apartment in many cities is over $1500 a month! So to be able to afford rent, you’d need to earn about $25 an hour. You can’t get there by working at a restaurant or factory like you could 30 years ago. All your money would go towards housing.
I think a lot of people would rather live on the streets than work for subsistence wages (otherwise known as slave wages).
1 Like
But we all need a roof over our heads, In the usa more than the UK caravan living is very popular
But the USA weather is better for such living,
The uk would it seems rather give travellers land to use than make the same Land fit for the homeless to have as a temp home until they sort their own lives out,
1 Like