A homeless person from Salzburg makes it back to their own apartment
Thomas I lost his job in the pandemic and was on the street. After a year he was able to move back into his own apartment. VinziDach looks after its 100th resident in Salzburg.
The pandemic hit Thomas I particularly hard: The young Salzburg man lost his job as a cook last year. Since he could no longer pay his rent, Thomas I. stood on the street. During his apprenticeship, the young Salzburg man had no apartment for two years and lives with friends for the week. He also had to struggle with a drug addiction at the time.
Get a subsidized rental apartment from the City of Salzburg
With the help of the project VinziDach Thomas I. has now managed to find an apartment again. A friend referred him to the initiative VinziWerke (formerly: Vinzensgemeinschaft) out. With their support, he applied for a subsidized rental apartment from the City of Salzburg. It is difficult for him to find something on the free housing market, says Thomas I. “As a homeless person in the substitution program, you have no chance of an apartment with landlords.” Even during his acute homelessness, Thomas I tried to get a job: Although still without an apartment, Thomas started working as a recruiter in May 2021. With the help of VinziDach, Thomas I was able to move into his own apartment on September 29, 2021. “Half a year ago I wasn’t on the street with anything, today I have a job and my own apartment,” he says.
100 homeless people have already been given an apartment
Thomas I is already the 100th person from Salzburg who came from homelessness to an apartment with the help of VinziDach. The employees at VinziDach arrange apartments for people who have previously lived on the street for years – that is, “rough sleepers”. Dying residents continue to be cared for in their own four walls. In this way, 10 to 15 people are helped sustainably to an apartment per year.
The state and the city continue to finance VinziDach
Private project funding for VinziDach expires this year. Thanks to the commitment of the State of Salzburg to also finance VinziDach, the continuation of this important project is assured.