Homelessness in Chile, 

The onset of Winter 2021 in the Southern hemisphere is around the corner and unfailingly will hit the poor-vulnerable the hardest. Live on the street is one of the cruelest and more degrading ways of poverty, and historically more socially excluded. It is also by far the population with the highest risk of being infected by the pandemic.

Over 18,000 people are homeless in Chile and above 40% suffer severe illnesses and/or multiple health problems, among others, HIV, tuberculosis, schizophrenia, diabetes, mental disability. Around 18% or over 2,600 are Elderly people. The organized Civil Society maintains around 3,000 permanent beds, and around 3,100 are added during Wintertime, so the max during peak season is just 6,000 beds.

No question, lack of affordable housing is the longstanding main problem for people living on the streets, not solved yet, likewise the lack of public policies for this fragile population. It’s a matter of basic rights ignored.

During the pandemic, the State must create procedures, devices, and resources throughout Chile to get all this population tested and quarantined if confirmed with covid-19. Treated with the same dignity as anyone else.

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