Snow and ice in Zurich: Seniors stay at home, emergency shelters are full

The sidewalk is moderately well cleared of snow. Towards the evening the ground freezes into a mirror-smooth surface. And anyway the cold gets into your limbs. The early onset of winter certainly has its pitfalls. This is particularly true for some groups, such as pedestrians.

Not surprisingly, the Zurich city hospitals (Waid and Triemli) and the university hospital report that since this weekend an increasing number of passersby have ended up in emergency cases due to falls and accidents. However, the hospitals do not record exact accident numbers in correlation with the weather. But the doctors noticed something different.

Older citizens currently prefer to stay at home in the warm room. In any case, this is how the Zurich City Hospital explains the fact that there is currently no increase in bone fractures among older people. Many seniors are well aware of the risks and experience has shown that they go out on the streets less often when winter sets in and there is a risk of black ice.

Because their sense of balance is poorer, older people are more at risk than younger people. In addition, seniors are at greater risk of a fracture after a fall. A common and typical fall injury is a fracture of the forearm (radius fracture), when the unfortunate person tries to catch the fall with their hands.

Dozens of homeless people sleep outside in winter

The current cold can be particularly dangerous for another group whose members are also among the weakest in society: the homeless. Even when temperatures are below freezing, people in Zurich sleep outside. When the thermometer drops below zero degrees, social workers from Sip Züri (security, intervention, prevention) and from the Pastor Sieber social work carry out so-called “cold patrols”. The street workers know well over 100 sleeping places that are used by homeless people.

According to city social services, all places that are protected from wind and rain can be used, such as house entrances, bus stops, under bridges or in parks. Some homeless people would change their sleeping place within the city or even within the country every day, while others would always stay in the same place. The Zurich sleeping places known to the authorities are mainly located near the center or city.

The Social Department knows of two to three dozen people who spend the night outside in all weather conditions. When they meet city social workers, two questions are central to these: whether the person can realistically assess the temperatures and risks. And whether she survives the night outdoors unscathed.

Because the cold season started very abruptly, many Zurich residents have contacted Sip Züri in the past few days. Many were concerned about the well-being of individual homeless people, writes the Social Department. We are grateful for the increased attention and commitment.

When the onset of winter is as early and severe as it is now, homeless people may not be well prepared for the drop in temperature. They are simply too ill-equipped to spend the night outside. The city is now keeping an eye on this problem.

According to the Social Department, the most important thing is to notice the sleeping person and take action. You can speak to the person or make a report. Sip Züri recommends that homeless people who are well wrapped up in a sleeping bag are not approached or woken up.

Walter von Arburg from Pastor Sieber’s social work also says: “We still meet people outside. Many people don’t even want to go to the emergency shelters.” Some homeless people want to remain undetected and hide accordingly. Von Arburg: “The people who now sleep outside are mostly used to it.” At the beginning of the season, the social work organization provides the homeless with sleeping bags and warm clothes.

Homeless people are drawn to Zurich

Currently, between 35 and 40 people spend every night in the city’s emergency shelter. This means that it is not fully utilized. However, it can only be used by homeless people who are registered in the city of Zurich. In an emergency, non-residents would not be turned away, but would be taken in for a night or a weekend, according to the Social Department.

Since the start of the season in mid-November, there has been a lot of activity in the “Pfuusbus” run by Pastor Sieber’s social work organization. People who have fallen through the social safety net, often people with drug or alcohol addictions, stay here too. “No one should be in danger of freezing to death in Zurich,” the eponymous man of God with the floppy hat and white bushy beard, who died in 2018, used to say.

Anyone who is not registered in the city of Zurich can spend the night on the Pfuusbus. There are officially 40 sleeping places, but in the end 52 people stayed there overnight on Monday night. A new record this winter: “We are already overcrowded,” says Walter von Arburg. So that no one has to stay outside, the lounge area was quickly removed in order to place additional mattresses there.

The other emergency sleeping place run by Pastor Sieber’s social work agency is also already fully occupied. All 30 beds in the “Igloo”, where homeless migrant workers from abroad can stay overnight, are currently full. This has been going on since mid-November, says Walter von Arburg. Normally this high occupancy is only reached around Christmas.

The reason behind this was already apparent last winter: since the end of the pandemic, migrant workers have been traveling around Europe again more and more, and immigration is also increasing in Switzerland. Many homeless people from Eastern Europe are drawn to Zurich.

The numbers in the only emergency shelter for migrants in Zurich rose accordingly. While 324 homeless migrants stayed overnight in the “igloo” in the winter of 2021, last winter there were already 513 people. The number of overnight stays increased from 2,698 to 3,902.

80 percent of the homeless there currently come from Eastern Europe, many from Romania. Walter von Arburg says: “The Swiss labor market needs people. Of course there are also many unqualified people. And in the worst case scenario, they end up between a chair and a bench.”