Talk:Homelessness in Germany/Archive 1

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 7 January 2020 and 13 March 2020. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Olivia.bakken. Peer reviewers: S1tongYang, Chriscarroll58.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 22:32, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

I want to know more about current day.
What should we know about present day homeless Germany? How is affected by it most and are there any preventative measures currently being taken? Olivia.bakken (talk) 00:00, 18 January 2020 (UTC)

Wiki people should be talking more about this! Chriscarroll58 (talk) 08:24, 27 February 2020 (UTC)

Disctinction between wohnungslos and obdachlos
Fell free to add these paragraphs to the article, if it fits the quality standards and the language is correct, my English is not that good.

There are two words in German for being homeless, wohnungslos (which means that a person has no registered residence, no matter where they actually live) and obdachlos (the closest English term might be vagrant, but not always with an aspect of migration). Wohnungslos is an umbrella term that includes Obdachlose. But what separates the terms the most is the strict social exclusion of Obdachlose from mainstream society, which has a long tradition in Germany, resulting in some kind of a subculture, with street papers and a particular social dialect (that is part of the Rotwelsch language). Most Obdachlose nowadays are war refugees and (former) migrant workers, but also social groups with a nomadic culture, e.g. Romani people. Their status as a social outcast, combined with wide-spread racism in the mainstream society, and other contributing factors make life on the street dangerous. It is estimated that 50,000 Obdachlose live in Germany, and there are at least 1389 reported crimes against Obdachlose (in 2017), 592 of them violent. Between 2014 and 2018, an estimated number of 20-97 Obdachlose were murdered. (source).

Preventative measures against homelessness are social housing, but the construction of new affordable housing has decreased in numbers or even halted since the 1970s, and thousands of social housing projects are redesignated to the free market each year. (In 1990, there were an estimation of 300,000 social housing options, a number that decreased to 100,000 in 2020 (source)). It's not uncommon that people continue to live in their Sozialwohnung although they could afford another housing on the free market. In this case, they have to pay an extra fee, which makes it more profitable to keep this tenant instead of giving the housing to a person in need.

In many cities, there are shelters for vulnerable groups, like women (in some cases, also men and queer people) experiencing domestic abuse. In 1 out of 2 requests, there's no place for a person in need, since the projects lack funding. Shelters for Obdachlose are not popular among the target audience, since they may face discrimination and crimes committed by their peer group. Most Obdachlose avoid these places and go there only in winter, when it's too cold to sleep in the streets. Welfare has a long tradition in the clerical institutions, therefore, there are shelters for Wohnungslose and Obdachlose run by church-related relief organisations like Caritas in many bigger cities. Institutions for vulnerable groups like Romani people and LGBTIQ homeless people exist in some cities. During winter, some cities like Frankfurt open some metro stations at night for homeless people, where it's warmer than outside. Some cities and organisations offer Kältebusse - a bus driving through the city, looking after homeless people and offering tea, a blanket, and a ride to a homeless shelter or hospital, if a person wishes to go there. A Passer-by can call a Kältebus phone number if they run into a person in need, numbers are publicly available on the municipal administration's or relief organisation's website. However, each winter, Obdachlose face the risk of death by exposure. In Winter 2020/21, 23 Obdachlose froze to death (source). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2003:C3:1F3A:A900:C6C7:9C34:6219:719B (talk) 02:56, 21 May 2022 (UTC)

New data ?
Here is a publication of the relevant federal ministry from 12/8/2022 which claims to provide the first reliable data: https://www.bmas.de/DE/Soziales/erstmals-belastbare-zahlen-ueber-wohnungslosigkeit-in-deutschland.html

Since the text is in German let me translate some sentences. I must say that this is much closer to my day to day experience than what the current text of the WP article says (not your fault of course as there was no data) ...

"Derzeit sind 262.600 Menschen in Deutschland ohne Wohnung. 38.500 Personen leben tatsächlich auf der Straße, die anderen finden privat Unterkunft oder in öffentlichen Einrichtungen."

"Currently there are 262.600 people in Germany without a home. 38.500 persons actually live on the street, the others find private shelter or in public institutions." (sic, the bad grammar is original)

The text continues to specify: - 63% male over all - 79% male, 44yo on avg, mostly single when actually living on the street ...

There is a lot more but you get the picture.

Such a report is now to be expected every 2 years as required by a new law with the target to solve the problem until 2030. JB. --92.195.33.61 (talk) 01:13, 7 August 2023 (UTC)