‘Pfuusbus’ emergency homeless shelter sees record demand
The Pfuusbus emergency sleeping centre, an initiative by Pfarrer Sieber, is open to people aged 20 and over who have no place to sleep.
KEYSTONE
The ‘Pfuusbus’, an emergency shelter for homeless people, was busier last year than ever before.
This content was published on
3 minutes
Keystone-SDA
The Pfarrer Sieber charity has said this is likely due to a change in drug use, an overburdened psychiatric system, and the housing shortage.
The Pfuusbus emergency sleeping centre, an initiative by Pfarrer Sieber, is open to people aged 20 and over who have no place to sleep. Night patrollers seek out people on the street and show them the way to the Pfuusbus, which offers support with their living situation, pastoral issues, and social enquiries.
From mid-November 2023 to mid-April 2024, Pfarrer Sieber registered a total of 6,495 overnight stays by 277 different people in its Pfuusbus. In the previous winter, there were 4,965 overnight stays by 251 people.
At the Iglu, an emergency sleeping centre for homeless migrant workers, demand was on a par with the previous winter’s 3,902, with 3,919 overnight stays, the social welfare organisation announced on Tuesday.
The organisation pointed to a change in drug use as a possible reason for the significant increase in overnight stays in the Pfuusbus, despite a mild winter.
According to the press release, doctors at the Sune-Egge specialist hospital have noticed that patients who used to inject cocaine are now increasingly smoking the substance as crack cocaine, which it said leads to a stronger dependency and accelerates social disintegration.
The Pfuusbus also saw an increase in mentally ill people seeking refuge in the winter of 2023/24, according to Pfarrer Sieber, possibly due to overwhelmed psychiatric services following the coronavirus pandemic. Patients without a strong social network, who find it difficult to keep appointments and do not take their medication regularly, could fall out of the system.
Increased demand for emergency accommodation could also have something to do with the tight housing market: “In any case, we have noticed that some guests were doing paid work during the day,” the press release said. “They had lost their precarious housing situation and were referred to the Pfuusbus by sometimes overburdened residential communities.”
Translated from German by DeepL/kp
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Popular Stories
More
Life & Aging
Why liberal Switzerland is opposed to the Sarco suicide capsule
Swiss breast cancer screening quality varies across cantons
This content was published on
The quality of breast cancer screening programmes in Switzerland varies from canton to canton. However, according to a study published on Tuesday, the results align with the European standard.
Swiss army neutralised 280 unexploded ordnances in 2023
This content was published on
The Swiss army neutralised 280 unexploded ordnance last year. A total of 1,122 reports were received, a record figure attributed to increased leisure activities and greater public awareness of this danger.
Switzerland closely monitoring Bangladesh amidst political turmoil
This content was published on
Switzerland has been "concerned and affected by the unprecedented loss of life since mid-July," said the Swiss foreign ministry.
Adecco faces continued challenges amid sales decline and cost cuts
This content was published on
The job placement agency, Adecco Group's business remained challenging in the second quarter of 2024, with the personnel services provider continuing to anticipate difficulties in the third quarter.
UN investigates UNRWA staff involvement in October 7 Hamas attack
This content was published on
Nine employees of the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) "may have been involved" in the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, according to the UN's internal investigation. This involved 19 people accused by Israel.
This content was published on
Swiss rider Steve Guerdat wins the silver medal in the individual competition at the Games in Paris with the mare Dynamix.
Blinken urges Sudanese Army to join ceasefire talks in Switzerland
This content was published on
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a call on Monday with Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, reiterated the need for Sudan's military to participate in ceasefire talks this month in Switzerland, the State Department said.
Galenica confident of meeting annual targets after strong half-year
This content was published on
Galenica continued to grow in the first six months of the year. The healthcare company now believes it is well on track to achieve its targets for the year.
Swiss interior minister orders probe after pension miscalculation
This content was published on
Old-age and survivors’ (known as the AHV/AVS) pension expenditure in 2033 is likely to be around CHF4 billion ($4.7 billion), or approximately 6% lower than previously calculated.
What are the causes of homelessness in your country?
An article we published about homelessness in Switzerland sparked many reactions. We’d now like to hear from readers about the situation – and solutions – in their countries.
Swiss salary illusion: precarious cost of living sets off alarm bells
This content was published on
“You’re from Switzerland, you must be rich!” This is how Switzerland is seen from the outside. The reality is very different.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.