Living on the streets during the COVID-19 outbreak

[webfact]

 

After sunset, both sides of Phra Arthit Road become makeshift dormitories for the homeless. Small spaces in front of all the buildings are used as places to bed down, accompanied by luggage, ready to be on the move at any time.

 

A survey, by the Issarachon Foundation, shows that over 4,400 people are living on the streets of Bangkok, a number which doubled after the COVID outbreak. The statistic includes both the temporarily distressed, who have been hit the hardest by the pandemic’s economic impacts, and people who are at risk of becoming permanently homeless.

 

Adchara Sornwaree Secretary of the Issarachon Foundation said that “When the 1st and 2nd wave hit, there was an increase of 200-250 people. In this 3rd wave, we’ve given out food coupons to 300-350 people. The numbers are almost double. It is probably not only people who are living in public spaces or the homeless, but it might be people who are living hand-to-mouth. Some went through quarantine and became jobless or used to rented rooms by the day, but now they can’t afford to.”

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/living-on-the-streets-during-the-covid-19-outbreak/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2021-05-06

 

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[Mango Bob]

The Minister of Health should be living on the streets.

[RichardColeman]

17 minutes ago, webfact said:

The statistic includes both the temporarily distressed

Sorry, but I find that statement incredibly PC

[Nitnit Noinoi]

I've never been anywhere in Thailand that did not have prefect ... empty ... buildings.

[Don Chance]

4,000 homeless is nothing. In Toronto there are at least 10,000. Thai's can be thankful they don't have a globalists PM who imports 100,000's  new immigrants ever year.

[hotchilli]

LOys of empty condo's to squat in.

[unblocktheplanet]

Homelessness, sometimes accompanied by addiction and/or mental illness, has been a common thread in many Western countries. Here, however, there is NO social safety net.

 

Our brass-plated, shiny generals graciously granted B5,000 to the poor in first wave. No such offers now it's gotten really bad entirely due to those same generals.

 

They're busy mining for gold and spending on submarines.

[jaiyen]

Those figures are rubbish !  Probably supplied by TAT !  They have no way of counting the homeless people.  In a city with over 18 million people ?

 

[vandeventer]

Don't they think the homeless should be vaccinated first?

[Nitnit Noinoi]

It's also hard to tell the difference between 'homeless' and guys not allowed to go home because their wives found their 'second phone.'

[BritManToo]

43 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Homelessness, sometimes accompanied by addiction and/or mental illness, has been a common thread in many Western countries. Here, however, there is NO social safety net.

Any temple will feed you and give you a place to sleep also almost all Thais have a 'family farm' they can go and live/work on. There is a social safety net, but it's different to the social safety net in your home country and not run by a nanny state.

It appears to work better than the one in your home country IMHO.

[Proboscis]

6 hours ago, Don Chance said:

4,000 homeless is nothing. In Toronto there are at least 10,000. Thai's can be thankful they don't have a globalists PM who imports 100,000's  new immigrants ever year.

In Thailand they are never called immigrants because they are not given rights. But be assured that hundreds of thousands of people come into the kingdom to do the work that locals don't really want to do.

[brianthainess]

7 hours ago, Mango Bob said:

The Minister of Health should be living on the streets.

He should also be cleaning the streets, and collecting discarded face masks to add to his collection.

[RocketDog]

15 hours ago, Nitnit Noinoi said:

I've never been anywhere in Thailand that did not have prefect ... empty ... buildings.

Agreed. This has always puzzled me as well. Many of such have been newly constructed in the last few years to remain unoccupied. I've always put it down to naive investors are convoluted tax breaks.