Part of the Bratislava Shelter of St Vincent de Paul for homeless people. (source: SME - Jozef Jakubčo)
In the last ten years, the number of people sleeping rough in Slovakia has increased threefold, reports the Statistics Office. According to the last population census in 2021, there were 71,076 people without homes.
Until now, the only relevant number came from the previous population census in 2011, according to which there were 23,483 such people.
"This is due to the absence of systemic assistance to those living in extreme poverty. However, this is partly due to the different methodology compared to the last census as well," Vagus, a civic association for the homeless in Bratislava, explains the stark difference in a social media post, calling the number "alarming".
The last census allowed to quantify what is called secondary homelessness, a situation where people are forced to move from one temporary shelter to another. This includes emergency and transitional accommodation, couch surfing, a structure not intended for dwelling, etc.
Men constitute the dominant group. People at the productive age comprise a large part, followed by children under 14 years of age with a 15-percent share.
Region-wise, the highest number of homeless are in the Nitra, Košice and Banská Bystrica Regions.
In this regard, the Research Institute of Social and Economic Risks (IVRA) suggests that a new government should recognise the right to housing, which would ensure that no Slovak will become homeless.
"We want to draw attention to the crazy logic that in 2023 all of us pay €64 per day for one prisoner, but the state cannot even help homeless people, most of whom are of productive age, with housing, leaving all responsibility and financing to individual self-government regions," says Martin Halás from IVRA.
