Marina Nikolova
Poverty is increasingly affecting people who previously had a high standard of living, educated people, who lose their jobs because of the economic crisis and can not pay their rent. The homeless until recently were drug addicts, or former prisoners without relatives, or abandoned mentally ill people, but this has changed completely last year. The number of homeless people has doubled and they are about 20,000 in Greece now, according to unofficial data presented by the Klimaka NGO. These people live mainly in the cities of Athens, Thessaloniki and Patras. They worked in the tourism sector, they were guards, sailors, technicians before, but suddenly they found themselves on the streets without support and money.
Klimaka NGO has been organizing for several years already an evening on the street with concerts, an exhibition of photographs, and performances in the early spring to give publicity to the issue of homeless people. Hundreds of people gathered on the Klafthmonos square in downtown Athens on Friday evening to share during the Sleep out 2011 event their symbolic solidarity with the people who try everyday to overcome reality and get out of the vicious circle, to start life anew with the support of volunteers from the Klimaka NGO. I spoke with Ada Alamanou - coordinator of the program to support the homeless - about the problem in Greece and what could be done to resolve it.
Who are the homeless people? A member of your organization told me that their number has increased very much since September...
The problem of homeless people has existed in Greece for three decades. Their number has grown significantly in recent years and the phenomenon has become more evident. The number of homeless people has increased mostly because of the economic crisis and unemployment in the last year, but their profile has changed too. These are people, who lived a normal life before, but due to the crisis that has hit almost all occupations and ages, they have found themselves in this situation. There is no homeless people census, but they are estimated to be about 20,000 in Greece. But these are not just the people who live on the benches and squares, but all those who live in houses unsuitable for habitation. Most of them are in Athens.
What is the state policy on this issue?
There is no institutional recognition of this phenomenon in Greece - to recognize that someone is homeless and give these people the right of social support, and there is no social policy related to them. For the same reason, we do not know their exact number. The services at local governments relate mostly to charity - they give them food, shelter, but this does not cover all the needs of homeless people. There is no policy relating to the prevention of the phenomenon and especially for their recovery, I mean their returning to work, but also to society. So, there is a phenomenon that is constantly reproducing itself. These people can live in an asylum, but because no efforts are being made to solve the problem from all perspectives - health problems, unemployment and other social problems - these people remain homeless, and their number is steadily increasing.
According to you, how much has the number of homeless people increased since the beginning of the economic crisis?
Not to say it has doubled, but this is the truth. These are highly educated people, they had a good life. There are some occupations that the crisis has hit the most - seasonal occupations and occupations related to tourism, guards, sailors, technicians. These people have no psychological problems, they are not drug addicts, as is the case with other homeless people, and they have a surrounding that can support them if there is an immediate interference. If they find a job, they will continue to live the life they had before. Things are more difficult for the people who have remained on the street for many years. They themselves are not optimistic and an internal process starts inside them. They begin to use the services only without taking active part in anything. They have serious psychological problems, drug-related issues with which to cope. It is hard.
As far as I can understand, it doesn’t take much for anyone to end up on the street after losing his or her job...
Yes, it is very easy. If you loose your job and you do not have someone close to support you, you run out of money, you can not pay your rent and you end up on the street. The role of the family is very important. The number of homeless people in Greece has remained low compared to other European countries, but that has changed over the years, because sometimes there are no opportunities. You can loose your job, but there may be a place to stay while this situation ends. But it is very difficult if you have no one.
How old are most of the homeless people?
They are 35-45 years old on the average and mostly men. There are persons of all ages. But the most tragic is that there are people who are about to retire at the age of 60-70 years. They lose their job just before retiring and are unable to find a new one. So, they are in a very difficult situation. Women around the world and in Greece are less in number because they rarely break up their relations with supporting factors such as family, acquaintances. But it is easier to support and find a home for them, because society is more sensitive to women and children.
What actions could be taken in terms of prevention?
Local governments could intervene like in foreign countries so as to give incentives to homeowners to give their tenants the opportunity to recover, not to leave them on the street. Prevention is related to all these people that come out of prisons, mental hospitals, who have nowhere to go and, in most of the cases, they remain on the street unfortunately. Most of the former prisoners, who have no family to shelter them, because over the years the links were lost, end up on the street very easily. The same happens with the mentally ill.
Are there foreigners among the homeless?
Yes, there are, but their profile is different. There are not many people who have mental health problems. Most foreigners who remain on the street are from certain countries. People from the Balkan countries and Russia have a problem with alcohol sometimes. But foreigners have a strong network of support, they help each other, and that is why many people live in one apartment. They support each other. But the homeless Greeks do not form groups. They are usually alone or in twos or threes. This kind of solidarity that we see in foreigners, immigrants and refugees is lacking.
Tell me about your organization and what is your programme for homeless people?
We have an asylum; we have a support centre with doctors and psychologists. There they can bathe, we give them clean clothes. We have a paper recycling plant which employs people from the asylums and they are paid. We have made a proposal to the Athens city hall, which is open to any suggestions on how to improve the functioning of the asylums, how to decentralize services, as they all are at the city centre and a ghetto has formed there. We also work on the street once a week. We give food and medicines, provide first aid. The Greek society is more committed to this issue already, because it realizes that this problem relates directly to all. Homeless people are not criminals, as was thought before or as it was actually. These are people who have lost their home or are close to losing it.
Are the people who remain homeless less in the countryside?
Yes, it is more difficult there to lose your home because people are closer there. There is more alienation, more unemployment in Athens. The phenomenon of having no shelter is a very serious public issue that can not be solved just through charity. The Greek state must recognize its existence and take appropriate and organized actions to cover the entire chain of problems. Moreover, health problems and issues related to unemployment are driving people in this state of homelessness.
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