Crisis for the homeless “enormous stress”

A sleeping bag and a warm meal can be financed with a donation of 50 euros. In the coronavirus year in particular, help is urgently needed, said Schwertner. “If we are asked to stay at home in lockdown or at all, we have to ask ourselves: What does that mean for people who have no roof over their heads?” Said the Caritas head in Vienna at a press conference.

Inflow of soup buses and help for the homeless

The “year of the permanent state of emergency” was also extremely demanding for the aid organization, reported the Caritas boss in Vienna of “hard backbreaking work”, said Schwertner. This has to do with the difficult working conditions as a result of the virus on the one hand, and the increased demand for support on the other. “Desperate people come to us who never thought they needed us,” said Schwertner.

This year, 9,200 people had already reported to P7, the central contact point for the homeless in Vienna: “That is an enormous number.” There was also a sharp increase in the Caritas soup buses: from January to the end of November, 83,500 servings were served – 11,500 more than in the same period in 2019.

The situation in the emergency quarters should still be quite stable. Of 860 beds, 789 are currently occupied, said Schwertner. So there are still free places. “But it’s still too early to give the all-clear.” Because Vienna’s Caritas director fears that “the great homelessness” will come with a delay. “The match is still open”, he appealed to countermeasures on the part of politicians.

Karl Markovics supports action again

Schwertner is calling on the federal government to extend the rent deferrals to the entire duration of the pandemic. And it needs “generous deadlines and installments” for the corresponding repayments. He would like the city to extend the winter emergency aid – as it did this year – over the summer in 2021.

Susanne Peter, head of the Caritas street work team, referred to the cold phone. Should passers-by discover homeless people in parks or house entrances, please let them know by calling 01/4804553 – available around the clock. Social workers then take care of those affected and take them to an emergency shelter or at least provide them with a winter-proof sleeping bag and warm food.

This acute aid is financed through the “winter package”, for which donations are now being asked again. As in the previous year, the campaign will be supported by actor Karl Markovics. The positive news in the crisis is: “You can do a lot with 50 euros.”

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