From the street to hope: Christian's fight against homelessness

From the street to hope: Christian's fight against homelessness

The Situation of people who have to live on the street in Cologne is a topic that affects us all. The Express reports about Christian Jähnke, a 42-year-old man who was homeless for a decade and not only lived on the street, but also had to go through fierce fights. After his childhood in the home, he fled into unusual life in Cologne, where he quickly got into a hopeless situation. If he was approached by a man from Deutz, a dark chapter seemed to begin. Christian was (presumably) raped and then looked for a way that led him to prostitution to make money quickly.

With an impressive height of 1.98 meters, he was increasingly able to work in Cologne gay bars and had up to 11 free per day. This brought him up to 500 D-mark, which he often spent on drugs. It is striking that Christian says in his report that there were his own rules and hierarchies on the street, which strongly shaped the everyday life of the homeless. His time of homelessness ultimately led him to an underpass behind a survival station for the homeless, where he not only had to redefine survival, but also daily life.

The pitfalls of homelessness

Christian did not always live in Cologne. At the age of 15 he moved to Berlin, but the return at 16 brought him back to the cathedral plate, where he had to spend the cold night on the street again. He sees the treatment of homeless today as worse than before, which could be a clear sign of social cold that many people encounter in our society. Statista data also show that not only in Cologne, but all over Germany, homelessness is a serious problem. More than 532,000 people were homeless in early 2024, including more than 47,300 without a fixed place to sleep.

The main reason for the loss of the apartment is rent debts. In combination with the constantly rising rents, which now cost over a quarter of the available income of many households, this becomes a dramatic challenge. Almost half of the households at risk of poverty are affected by this problem, and the number of social housing has almost halved since 2006.

help and support for homeless people