In Linz, the Youth Sleeping Center offers UFO shelter for teenagers who experience violence, hunger and homelessness. The inflation of recent years can also be felt en masse, the number of needy is increasing. A 17-year-old escaped the pain and violence in the parents’ apartment.
Time and again the 17-year-old T.-Zij does not want to reveal her full name that was defeated by her brother’s home. The parents could not prevent violence. Moreover, the 17-year-old and retail student is to work in the household for a few hours a day and to take over part of the rent for the parent apartment.
“Can’t stop it anymore”
Until one day she decided: “I can’t handle it anymore, I have to leave home.” The 17-year-old grabbed her things and heralded a few days before Christmas at the UFO Youth Emergency Center in Linz. “She said nothing to her parents. They didn’t know that day that she wouldn’t come back,” says Bernhard Wiesinger-Ries (37).
Accommodation, Advice and Care
The social worker leads the UFO. The aim of the facility is to prevent acute homelessness, for example after young people had been thrown out of the house. But consultation is also offered. 127 young people between the ages of 14 and 23 used the UFO as an emergency sleep in the previous year, in 2016 there were 78.
Exhibition highly noticeable
The increase in customers is not the only change that Wiesinger-Ries notifications notice: “The demands of school, work and also our own finances have increased. We feel the inflation of recent years. We have more and more young people who have lost their apartment due to money problems.”
More and more starved
And the social worker notes: “We realize that people sometimes come to us” – some UFO customers could not even afford food. “We couldn’t believe it ourselves,” says Wiesinger-Ries.
Countless visits
In the previous year, 883 visits to young people came to the nocturnal stay for advice or hygienic care. In 2024, around 880,000 euros in state subsidies flowed to the UFO, in 2016 the subsidies were 620,000 euros.
More than just shelter
This stems from an FPö State parliament request to the youth state council member Michael Lindner (Spö). “The UFO – needle sleeping site is much more than just a roof over her head – it offers stability, support and new perspectives in the young adults in crisis situations,” says Lindner.
How are T.
On average, teenagers and young adults sleep in the UFO for a week. The 17-year-old T. remained the maximum possible number of 90 nights at a time from Christmas to the end of February-Bijna. Then she found her own, guided apartment. “She’s doing well,” says Wiesinger-Ries.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
