Homelessness in Russia
I’ve never really considered the problem of homelessness in our country to be that serious before. Walking along the main streets of major US cities, I saw dozens of homeless people. But here, in Russia, I barely ever see them. Nobody knows the exact number of homeless people in our country. However, according to estimates of Nochlezhka, there are 1.5–4 million homeless people in Russia, which proves the issue to be real.
Why do people become homeless? Contrary to the belief that most people who live on the street are there because they don’t want to work, Nochlezhka provides data for the actual reasons. Moving for a job (32,6%), family problems (32,5%), and job loss (31,55%) are the most common reasons the homeless give. Other common reasons include loss of documents (16,63%) and fraud (12,43%).
Many also connect the issue with mental problems, but this aspect has been poorly researched in our country. Yet, given that numerous studies have reported that approximately one-third of homeless persons in the USA have a serious mental illness, I suppose that the percentage is about the same in our country. The major difference is that the US government provides more support to the homeless.
In our country, the real help comes from NGOs. Besides the largest and well-known Nochlezhka, there is, for instance, Diaconia, which runs two notable projects in Saint Petersburg. The first, Social Patrol, provides homeless people with disabilities with social, medical, and legal assistance. The second, Mercy Bus, distributes hot meals, clean clothes, hygiene products, and medical referrals to homeless people every weekday. In Nizhny Novgorod, there’s Miloserdie volunteer movement, which distributes hot food, clothes, and medicine to the homeless near the Moscow railway station three times a week.
I believe that we as a society should help the homeless. We can start by supporting the NGOs and should eventually break the stigma around the homeless people, which is probably the most effective way to fight the issue. We must give people a chance and an opportunity for a brighter future.