Volunteers carrying out the survey between 8pm and midnight on Oct 11 found that 133 homeless people were lying down, while 328 homeless were "sitting, walking or wandering", Peter Gyori, the head of board of trustees of the Menhely Foundation said told a press conference on Monday. Volunteers also discovered there were 30 empty sleeping spots, he added.

Fully 78 percent of homeless people were male, mostly aged between 30 and 49.

The survey found that most of the homeless made use of indoor shelters. Fifty-eight percent of those spending the night out in the streets were on their own, while "a surprisingly high" proportion, 22 percent, formed groups and 20 percent were couples, he said.

The count did not include homeless registered in the care system, those sleeping in hostels or shelters.

Peter Breitner, deputy director of the Budapest Methodological Centre of Social Policy and Its Institutions (BMSZKI), the city's largest homeless service provider, said their organisation maintained daily contact with some 3,000 homeless people who made use various types of indoor shelter.

He noted that a high ratio of the homeless, 30 percent, had psychiatric issues, adding that BMSZKI operated three types of shelter tailored to their needs. "We opened a house for those with addiction problems where alcohol is available," Breitner said.

Akos Suranyi, the city council's homeless strategy coordinator, said the survey was carried out with help of 120 volunteers who covered 48 zones on foot, focusing on subways, railway stations, public transport vehicles and the Nepliget international bus station.

Nora Teller, the head of research of Varoskutatas, said the project was carried out under a multiphase EU programme covering 15 cities in ten European countries.

Source: 
MTI - The Hungarian News Agency, founded in 1881.

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