The Skyrocketing Homeless Population of Sao Paulo
The Skyrocketing Homeless Population of São Paulo
Teachers, white-collar workers, single mothers: The Brazilian middle class is collapsing amid the crisis brought by the coronavirus, and many are landing on the streets of São Paulo. But there may be a solution in sight.
By Nicola Abé in São Paulo, Brazil
28.01.2021, 12.33 Uhr
(
Der Spiegel) The day that Tiago Ferreira de Almeira's normal life came to an end, he packed some clothes and his most important documents into a suitcase. He walked out the door, leaving behind his bed, his television and the rest of his belongings. It was the day when Ferreira lost his apartment in Bela Vista, a middle-class neighborhood in São Paulo.
Ferreira didn't know where to go. Ultimately, though, he says, he walked to the square in front of the Metropolitan Cathedral in the heart of the city, a place where a lot of homeless people sleep. He spread out a blanket and lay down.
It rained that first night, and Ferreira's clothes were drenched when he woke up. And his suitcase with his extra clothes and ID was gone. It was still dark, and he found a dry spot to stay out of the rain, hungry and afraid. He met a woman the next morning, who bought him a burger at McDonalds. "That's when I started crying," he says. "Her name was Maria."
....(snip)....
Volunteers estimate that the number of homeless people in São Paulo, the largest and economically most powerful city in South America, has jumped by 60 to 70 percent. Official numbers are not yet available, but anecdotal evidence can be seen at soup kitchens for the homeless, where the number of people waiting for a meal has more than tripled in some cases. One NGO employee calls it a "horror scenario." Another says: "We are now constantly being asked basic questions, with people wanting to know what corners are safe for sleeping or whether they can show up again tomorrow for a meal." ............(more)
https://www.spiegel.de/international/tomorrow/consequences-of-corona-the-skyrocketing-homeless-population-of-sao-paulo-a-bc469f46-1ac1-4a2c-a4a6-e39418bb9ece