Budapest homeless count lower than expected

An action group recently came across just 700 homeless people living in Budapest, much fewer than the 2,500 they had expected to find, reports index.hu.

The action group was patrolling Budapest on Saturday night, and by Sunday dawn, they found 300 homeless in the inner districts, and 400 outside the center. Based on these findings, they estimated the number of homeless people in Budapest at between 700 and 1,500.

The last survey of this kind was conducted in winter 2005 and showed 3,000 homeless people living in the city. This decrease in their number is likely to have two reasons. On one hand, social workers may be able to access more of them and help them find a shelter. On the other, continuous insults homeless people suffered by the homeless may lead them to keep a lower profile.

The action group continued to assess the number and whereabouts of homeless people in Monday, so the total count may yet increase.

Last week this same counting method was used in New York.

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