European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 28, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Europe s rising tide of homeless by Larry Thorson associated press Britain s Prince Charles has gone out incognito to Check Niho Phi he of homeless people sleeping in the streets Otlo Ndon. In pans Gray police vans cruise the French capital in search of the Down and out 1, Oiher in Rosa is  a shelter Tor the homeless in the Vatican in several West european count pcs a o Oai mfg i col homeless people threatens to burst through social safety nets the number of the truly homeless people in Europe probably does t compare with ital of the United slates  let Leral government estimates Range icim 250.000 to 2 million approaching 1 percent of the u s population West european countries almost All have Laws requiring Iho government to House everyone without a Home and europeans Are astonished at talks of the belched homeless amid limousine Iti Iii m Iho United Stales you can t compare our system to the u s  Kurt Danielsson. Information Secretary Al the ministry of social a lairs in Siv Cecii according to swedish Law. Every person in Chr. Country has the right Loa place to live and the society is obliged to help in ail Povy he \ a a " but ils Odon with evenly spread wealth anal a Lull blown welfare system is o Serif mrine strains living a up to its skin lard  and charities in Ionie Ottier Hir Opean countries face  Lens pcs in i Ori Lun i a Griffiths. 23. Spent 45 cot s 111 a  not room of a bed and Braham hold Vilh her Lodd Lor son Shane t Ier husband was with Hei Lor Ihrcke months hut she asked him to leave because we were lighting and arguing and it  t Lair to Shane " i Don t know if you could imagine living in one tiny  she says. You have All your possessions in that room All your clothes children s toys your books no floor space h s us impossible. It s Loo Claustrophobic " the Gill ills Al least had a Root Over i hair Heads but the hotel had no Kitchen facilities so the family tried to eat in Cales on a welfare allotment of $95 a week and became ill because of poor nutrition mrs Griffiths says her son became really naughty really Irusle rated. To ale on a bed. Played on a bed. Slept on a bed it was totally impossible for any family the family had moved from London to a new Job in Dorset in Southwest England but the Job evaporated and in december 1986 Hoy returned penniless to London where the number of homeless families Rose by 45 percent to 5.750 in the past year like the Griffiths Many were housed in bed and breakfast hotel welfare authorities finally put the Griffiths rent tree into a two bedroom apartment in november and they escaped the depressing a and b Holczl husband and Wile Are together again 3 year old Shane is cheerful and Pink cheeked again. The homeless Are refugees in i hair own  says a new report or a British Charity the Thomas Cor am foundation Lor children ii worries that the thousands of British youngsters crammed in hotels Are like the children cast aside on Dun heaps who inspired the founding of Iho Charity in 1739. Homeless people rounded up by the pans police arc Laken to the 100-year old Maison do Santerre in the Weslor suburbs Lor a Shower and a bed Lor the  at Santerre. Even Wilh All the Best intentions it becomes a situation which can be a Little  says Francois Lambert director of a Center for the homeless the people Are put Back on the streets each morning Many of Europe s homeless Are political refugees and immigrants. In Sweden an estimated 20.000 refugees took up one Quarter of Iho 1986 social welfare budget of $550 million which helped 308.800 households meet All their needs. While a swede on welfare gels assistance to rent permanent housing the doubling of the number of refugees in the past two years has forced authorities to rent hotels and guest houses for the influx from Iran. Lebanon. Chile and elsewhere. The number of homeless households that authorities in England help doubled from 52.700 in 1979 to 102,980m 1986. According to government statistics. That period coincides with prime minister Margaret Thatcher s tenure which has seen a rolling Backol the welfare stale and a drop in spending on Public housing much of Britain s homelessness is concentrated in London which has unemployment Well below the 9 5 percent National level and draws people with prospects of 0bs. But housing is scarce and expensive and those who ail to get work can find their families relegated for several years to the Bleak bed and break Asl hotels that Are increasingly used to House the homeless some argue that the authorities should nol give housing to anyone who left a Home elsewhere but the homeless persons act of 1977 requires that homeless families with children be housed. The bed and breakfast solution is widely criticized As extravagantly expensive London boroughs spent $113 million in 1987 on such housing paying hotels $350 to $900 a week to House a Lainily More than enough to make mortgage payments on a new House but the Law makes no provision Tor the poor to be Given title to Homes Only to House  South London Borough of Lambeth issued an Appeal in november to owners of vacant houses to lease their properties at attractive rents with the Borough taking Over maintenance. The Borough got a surprisingly vigorous response and was Able to House immediately some 20 families of former vietnamese boat people who were evicted irom a bed and breakfast hotel. Charities report a problem of burnout among British social workers who know they have no real solution a Home to Oiler. This leads to a situation where powerless workers Are talking to the powerless homeless Wilh All the distress this brings on Bolh sides says a Coram foundation report. In Winter the number requiring assistance swells. In Franco the authorities Supply accommodation Lor 30,000 homeless through most of the year but 38.000 in Iho Winter. The migration of the homeless to Paris in the Winter is a very important phenomenon says Philippe Lafouge director of the City social Aid office. The Winter influx includes seasonal workers people from the North of France and some foreigners he says. The homeless Are one thing. Iho aggressively homeless another they Are the squatters a subclass of the youth protests that swept Western Europe in the Laic 1960s squatters showed up most dramatically in Holland and they still invade vacant properties housing themselves while drawing attention to housing shortages in some cases people squat because Hoy need space Lor their political  says an Amsterdam squatter who gave Only his first name. Leo people find it important to live As a group. Then you pretty much have to  dutch Vellaro system however is geared to providing a Home to All Comers Marius Nuy. A researcher Al in Megen University says Iho government spends $25 million to $37.5 million a year on care for Iho homeless there Are 19 hostels where 2.000 homeless can slay indefinitely and Aboul 50 other hostels that Oiler Short term a Mother feeds her child in their cramped room at a hotel used to House the homeless in the Bay Swater area of London. They Are among thousands of homeless in Britain referred to in a recent report As refugees in their own land. Page 16 the stars and stripes sunday. February 28,1988