Bottomless Pit
This year, the Stëmm vun der Strooss charity celebrated its 30th anniversary. In the last three decades, poverty has changed in Luxembourg, says director Alexandra Oxacelay, who has worked with the association for 28 years.
In the beginning there were relatively few shelters and associations working on the ground, "but the problem was much smaller and people could be hidden away, which cannot be done these days."
More anonymity on the streets
The charity now accommodates many more people belonging to the working poor. This wasn't the case in the past. "If someone had a job, they could afford to live decently."
They still get a lot of people, including young people, coming from abroad, as well as migrants without rights in Luxembourg. But the work has become more anonymous. In the past, charity workers had time to approach more people, but now there are many more, and the aggressiveness on the ground has increased.
Stëmm vun der Strooss began employing security agents in 2015. The director attributes the increase in aggressive behaviour to the fact that more people in Luxembourg are consuming crack. "It's new, that we're seeing this level of crack consumption. It makes people more aggressive."
How do people end up on the streets?
The housing issue often comes up when people are asked why they are on the streets. Many simply can't afford the prices on the Luxembourg housing market. They also can't cross the border, because they would no longer have any rights and would no longer receive support from the state.
Are the charity's resources enough when the numbers keep rising? "The social system is always a bottomless pit, it's never enough. We can't solve the misery of the whole world."
She warns against judging people who come to the Grand Duchy to start a better life. For those who are already here, it can be hard to find their feet again. "It's much faster to go downhill than back up."
Things such as a gap in the CV, no school qualifications, or language difficulties can make it hard to find new employment. "That's why you have the gap between rich and poor here, which I think is much more pronounced in this country."
Heatwave shelters
The homeless don't just struggle in winter. Heatwaves also present an additional challenge. The charity says the Findel Wanteraktioun shelter should open punctually, but it's not enough to only open in the colder months. "We have plenty of shelters but they don't open long enough. I think we could make them more efficient."
The charity prepares 750 meals every day for its three restaurants in the capital, Esch-sur-Alzette, and Ettelbruck, serving around 400 people in Luxembourg City alone.
Appeal for crutches and wheelchairs
Oxacelay made an appeal to the public to donate old crutches and wheelchairs to the charity. Anyone with spare devices at home can drop them off at the charity's restaurants in Esch-sur-Alzette, Ettelbruck, or the capital.
Thirty years, 750 meals a day, crack on the streets, working poor who can't afford rent, and shelters that only open in winter. The director calls it a bottomless pit. She's right. But she's still there, 28 years in, asking for crutches.