Housing in Ulm: Winter makes homeless people sleep cold on the street!

Housing in Ulm: Winter makes homeless people sleep cold on the street!

Ulm, Deutschland - In Ulm, there is an acute shortage of housing that heavily burdened many people. The 61-year-old Hans Liebanz is one of the faces of this crisis situation. After looking for help at Caritas for the first time in 2023, he became aware of the drama of the situation: "There is enough living space, but only at high prices," he explains. Caritas registered over 500 homeless people last year, a trend that has increased since Corona pandemic. The city administration reports on permanently occupied 80 places in the emergency dormitory, where many people live in unreasonable conditions, while the winter temperatures threaten to further tighten their position, as well as mein-stuttgart.com describes.

uncertain accommodations and social challenges

The Ulm city administration has already set up provisional emergency accommodation in former parcel post halls to offer the homeless a dry place to sleep. Despite the miseries and the cold nights, Hans Liebanz and his girlfriend Anna Pakanova have to sleep in one of the so -called Ulm nests. "The air is as bad as if a hammer hits you on the head," complains Liebanz about the conditions in the DRK overnight home, where up to eleven people share a room. The hygienic conditions are worrying.

The legal situation makes access to necessary support for many homeless people. People who come from other EU countries are often particularly affected; They fall through all grids because they are not entitled to dormitory. Despite the difficult circumstances, hope for improvement remains. "1.5 rooms would be enough. I want to pay for it on my own," says Liebanz. The municipal specialist planner Andrea Gumpp admits that the situation is challenging, but assures that it is under control. But the tense housing market continues to demand its toll and leaves many in uncertainty, like Schwaebische.de reported.