Contents page 1 — Then he takes the skin back from page 2 — Christoph, of the spirit? Page 3 — “to Me, death is even too close to” site 4 — “I didn’t have the strength to talk to anyone” page 5 — a Moment to escape to On a page
read Sometimes he looks a bit. Christopher slips in a, if it is cold in two, sometimes in three sleeping bags, lay down on his Mat, on the outside, on the ground, and looks at the phone a crime. Make something, to which he has desire to do something Good for yourself, for him this means, the self-respect not to give up. And this was crucial in his Situation, he says. Christoph is homeless.
When I meet him, is actually different towards the end of the winter for the first Time, he lives for seven months in Basel on the road. In the night, he sleeps outside, in a covered place. He eats Breakfast in the soup kitchen, distributes after the time in the house for the homeless and eat in the evening, a chocolate bar, which is conveniently located and has a lot of calories.
The Morning after Christopher stood up, he does some pushups, then he writes a few pages in his Notepad, thoughts, ideas, short stories, which he will release maybe sometime in the future. Sometimes he goes to the library to read in a book. It’s called The artist’s way, and is a guide to be creative.
I meet him on a Wednesday in March 2018. I want to find out who is in Switzerland is homeless and why. I join Matthias Drilling for a survey. He is a Professor of Social work at the University of applied Sciences North-Western Switzerland, and conducts research with his colleague Jörg Dittmann on homelessness in Switzerland. So far, there are no comprehensive studies and reliable Figures on the subject. However, from the large cities, the evidence that in Switzerland the number of people who have no roof over your head, increases. Three of a kind, and his Team during several days and nights as a result of Basel and visit institutions and places where you suspect the homeless: stations, squares, social facilities. You talk to them, and to fill in the questionnaire. How do you live? Have you ever been on the road? How long? The pilot project is funded by the Christoph Merian Foundation. The researchers would expand it to seven other Swiss cities. The first results of triple study will be published at the beginning of 2019.
I Matthias Drilling and his helpers follow a day and a night. Soon it becomes clear: homelessness has many faces. And it particularly affects people who have an insecure or inadequate living situation: a small apartment, one that you can only rent temporarily, the mold or other defects. A furnished room, and can be terminated at any time, or a Sofa with friends, where you only for a couple of weeks be able to sleep. Some of them will eventually end up in emergency accommodation at the airport, or in the heat tube S oup and Chill in the there are for free to eat.
This article dates back to the TIME no 53/2018. Here you can read the entire issue.
Around lunch time we meet Christoph in the day house for the homeless. He goes to the table where Matthias Drilling is sitting, with a first name and wants to know what he’s doing here exactly what his methodology is. It’s going to cost him, visibly Overcome. On the forehead beads to collect sweat, as he tells the story of. That he may live on the street, that homelessness was only a temporary Situation, that he wanted to find soon a room.
He falls, because he is so unobtrusive. Black, short hair, a round face, he is well-groomed, wearing clean Jeans, a sweater and white sneakers.
Christoph as one of the Last in the queue for lunch. There are Brussels sprouts, rice and a bit of meat, garnished with a tin of apricot. The menu cost three francs. Christoph sits down with his plate in the rearmost corner. After dinner, he pulls out a chess Board. I ask him if he plays with me a lot. He nods and shows me a couple of clever Opening moves. Christoph speaks slowly and wisely, he seems to be resigned, but rather reflects and patient, says that he wanted to give his life a Chance. “I would like to more car people and make new contacts.”
He is willing to meet in the next few months with me and listed his phone number on a piece of paper.
A couple of weeks later, we’re Dating. As a meeting place, he suggests, the Restaurant zum Isaak on münsterplatz. Here, in the old town, Basel is nice and quiet and clean. I sit down at a table in the courtyard to watch the mothers, the Cappuccino drinking, and retirees who read your newspaper. Christoph appears to be on time, sits opposite me and ordered a rose hip tea. He wears, like, a few weeks earlier, inconspicuous clothing: Jeans, a faded T-Shirt. He has a backpack and a large pocket, in which it would Have been Good.
