Homelessness in North Rhine-Westphalia is reaching alarming levels!

Homelessness in North Rhine-Westphalia is reaching alarming levels!

The situation of the homeless in North Rhine-Westphalia is alarming: around 122,000 people in North Rhine-Westphalia were considered homeless in 2024, which corresponds to an increase of around 12.5 percent compared to the previous year. This number represents the highest value since data collection began in 2011, as Tagesschau reports. However, the definition of homelessness is complex. Only around 1 percent of homeless people actually live on the streets - the majority find themselves in emergency accommodation, housing projects or with friends.

A particularly worrying aspect is that around 70 percent of the homeless in North Rhine-Westphalia are recognized refugees who often live in central state or municipal accommodation and do not have their own apartment. After Russia's attack on Ukraine in 2021, the uncertain situation drew even more people into this precarious situation, as Rundschau Online highlights.

A look at the numbers

Statistics show that more than three quarters of homeless people have non-German citizenship. Particular concern should be given to the many children and young people under the age of 18, who make up a quarter of the homeless population. It is also surprising that 60 percent of the homeless are male. A precise overview of homelessness in North Rhine-Westphalia remains unclear; Estimates from 2021 put the number of homeless people at around 5,000. The increase is particularly noticeable in places like Dortmund and Cologne.

• 497 Menschen lebten im vergangenen Jahr in Dortmund auf der Straße.
• 438 Menschen waren es in Köln.

The political will: action is required

NRW Social Minister Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) emphasizes the need to continue the fight against homelessness. Among other things, he plans to employ more social workers, real estate professionals and support programs. A step in the right direction is the state initiative “Finally a Home”, which has been supporting local authorities and independent providers to help the homeless since 2019. For this purpose, the funding was increased to an impressive 15.6 million euros annually in order to enable an effective fight against homelessness.

The situation in North Rhine-Westphalia reflects a larger problem: In Germany, a total of around 532,000 people are homeless, including around 47,300 homeless people. An important reason for the loss of housing is the constantly rising rent prices in the cities, which makes it more and more difficult for more people to find adequate accommodation. Almost half of households at risk of poverty spend over 50 percent of their income on housing costs. At the beginning of 2024, more than 65 percent of homeless people were without accommodation for more than a year, shows an analysis by Statista.

Current developments call for urgent solutions and a common approach to combat homelessness in our region and to offer perspective to those particularly affected. Because one thing is clear: there is still a lot to do.