There can be up to 62,000 households in temporary housing, an unsuitable apartment or a homeless home in the Czech Republic. Up to about 166,000 people can live in them, including up to 51,000 children. The worst situation is in the largest cities and also in northern Bohemia and northern Moravia. More and more seniors have problems with housing, they already make up a fifth of the population of hostels. Jan Klusáček, an analyst at the For Housing initiative, presented the results of the report on housing problems in the Czech Republic in 2020 at a press conference today. In recent years, the numbers have increased. According to the last analysis from 2018, there were about 54,000 households in need of housing. Around 83,000 people lived in them, including 20,500 children.
People in a homeless or temporary shelter, in hostels, shelters, unsuitable flats, institutions or temporarily with relatives and acquaintances are in serious housing need. The authors monitored the numbers of people in shelters and the situation in about 190 hostels. They focused on the availability of housing in selected cities. They also used data on benefits paid, from the census of homeless people or from a regular statistical survey on the living conditions of households. The Housing Initiative consists of organizations to help those in need, academics and several municipalities and cities.
According to the authors, there are at least 35,000 households in serious housing need in the Czech Republic. But there can be up to 62,000 of them. Thus, 20,000 to 51,000 children grow up in unsatisfactory conditions. According to the findings, more than 3,000 households live in shelters, ie about 5,400 to 6,000 people. 8000 to 11,000 households have been living in hostels for a long time. It can be 13,000 to 18,000 adults and children. 11,000 to 17,000 people were left without a roof over their heads. Around 5,000 to 7,600 people live in institutions and other facilities who have nowhere to return. According to experts, up to 25,000 households live in an overcrowded apartment or in an apartment without a bathroom, kitchen, running water, electricity and other essentials. It can be up to 118,000 people, but at least 39,000. The authors state the lowest and highest numbers in the analysis.
According to the report, the highest numbers of households in housing need are in the largest cities, i.e. Prague, Brno and Ostrava. The analyst has the highest share in poorer regions, ie in northern Bohemia and in the north of Moravia, the analyst specified.
The results showed that the number of seniors in hostels is increasing. According to Klusáček, older people make up up to a fifth of households in hostels. There are also more elderly people in shelters. One third of seniors got into trouble after the age of sixty. In total, at least 5,500 people over the age of 65 are in housing need. They are mostly widows.
Source: CTK
