Homelessness Count

In Bratislava, 1 968 adults and 231 children were counted. The total number of homeless people and those in housing need thus reached 2 199 people. In 2016, there were 2 064 homeless people, of whom 284 were children. Despite the fact that in recent years we have faced several societal challenges (e.g. Covid-19, the war in Ukraine associated with the refugee crisis, economic inflation), we do not observe a dramatic increase in the number of homeless people in Bratislava - in 2023, 6.5% more people were counted than in 2016.

409 homeless people (20.8% of the 1 968 people surveyed) refused to participate in the census, that is, to answer questions about their living situation. Among the homeless people who participated - similarly to 2016 - men predominate. Respondents were aged 18 to 92, with the largest number of respondents being counted in Staré mesto (408), Ružinov (312) and Vrakúňa (248). The least frequented census locations were the city districts of Lamač, Devínska Nová Ves and Vajnory, where a total of approximately 25 people were counted.

The living situation of homeless people, or to say people in housing need is different, the following were counted:

• 212 people living and sleeping rough = ETHOS 1
• 360 people sleeping in night shelters = ETHOS 2
• 480 people using short-term accommodation for homeless people (e.g. shelter, halfway house, hostel, crisis center) = ETHOS 3
• 9 women in emergency accommodation (e.g. emergency housing facility) = ETHOS 4
• 19 people before release from institutional care (e.g. prison and detention facilities, health care facilities, etc.) = ETHOS 6
• 149 people living in substandard housing that is not intended for permanent residence and have no other housing option (e.g. mobile/substandard housing - caravans, cabins; makeshift/temporary structures - shacks, shelters, etc.) = ETHOS 11

It is important to note that the above figures only refer to the living situation of adult people counted. No children were counted in hostels and cabins, only 5 children were counted outside on the street, and more than half of the children (53%) were counted in a municipal dormitories.

Most people have been living in housing exclusion for more than 10 years, although they previously had standard housing, whether their own or rented. One of the most common causes of loss of housing is the breakdown of relationships or problems in the family, and financial circumstances such as job loss, lack of finances, and debts or foreclosures are also amongst more common causes. Homeless people primarily mentioned that they need housing the most, under which one can imagine their own bed in a safe space, a roof over their heads, privacy in a room, or living in an apartment. In the interview, they often stated that they very much desire a quality relationship, family, love - to love and be loved. Most people in housing need are living outside of a partner relationship and face loneliness.

More information and a more detailed analysis can be found in the Final Report on the Homelessness Count 2023 (SK) (PDF, 2,0 MB) ↗︎

The Homelessness Count was conducted in social service facilities, in night shelters, in low-threshold day centers, in residential facilities, but also directly in the field. Information on the number of people who do not have a home was also provided by temporary institutional care facilities.

In addition to the number and basic information about the person (e.g. age and gender), where possible and appropriate, a short questionnaire was also filled out in order to obtain more detailed information about the life situations of people who do not have a home. Interviewers - mixed teams of social workers and volunteers - used questionnaires to find out, among other things, the causes of housing loss, household composition, economic situation and health problems of homeless people.

• Non-governmental organizations working with homeless people began counting at the end of September 2023 in remote locations in the field.
• The key part of the Homelessness Count took place on the so-called street count evening (16.10.2023), which counted the minimum number of people without housing, i.e. from people sleeping rough to people in inadequate or insecure housing (shelters, hostels, etc.)
• Until the end of October 2023, the so-called additional count, was carried out in night shelters and day centers, so that people who could not be captured during one (census) evening (the street count evening) but are current clients of services for homeless people could also be included in the census

We defined the target group of respondents based on the European typology of homelessness ETHOS, which captures more than 20 different life situations in which we can speak of homelessness or exclusion from housing, namely:

• people living and sleeping rough = ETHOS 1
• people sleeping in night shelters = ETHOS 2
• people using short-term accommodation for homeless people (e.g. shelter, halfway house, hostel, crisis center) = ETHOS 3
• women in emergency accommodation (e.g. emergency housing facility) = ETHOS 4
• people before release from institutional care (e.g. prison and detention facilities, health care facilities, etc.) = ETHOS 6
• people living in substandard housing that is not intended for permanent residence and have no other housing option (e.g. mobile/substandard housing - caravans, cabins; makeshift/temporary structures - shacks, shelters, etc.) = ETHOS 11