German Homeless Population Explodes By One-Third In 2016 As Migrant Crisis Takes Its Toll
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Nov 15, 2017
According to a recent estimate published by the Federal Association for Assistance for the Homeless, the number of homeless people living on Germany’s streets has risen by 33% in a matter of just a couple of years, to 52,000. Meanwhile, as The Local notes, the number of Germans who can’t afford their own home and have been forced to rely on the generosity of family and friends for a place to sleep every night has also risen a staggering 26%, to over 400,000 people.
In 2016 an estimated 52,000 people were living on German streets, an increase of a third on the 39,000 people who were living rough in 2014.
The report also claims that the overall number of people in Germany who don’t have their own home has risen sharply, from 335,000 in 2014 to 422,000 last year.
Most of the people who don’t have their own homes live in collective accommodation or have to rely on the charity of partners or family.
Of course, German officials have offered up a wide range of potential explanations for the country’s exploding homelessness crisis, with Thomas Specht, head of the Federal Association for Assistance for the Homeless, blaming restricted housing supply, rising rents and stagnant wages.
“The numbers presented today on homelessness are shocking,” said Ulrike Mascher, President of the VdK social association.
“In our view this proves that ever more people are unable to pay their rents because of low wages and over-indebtedness.”
Thomas Specht, head of the Federal Association for Assistance for the Homeless, said that rising rents were just one cause of the negative development.
He pointed out that since 1990 the number of council flats had dropped by 60 percent to 1.2 million, because local councils had sold off many properties to private investors.
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