Grassroots groups are supporting people abandoned by the welfare state, but six years of austerity have stretched them to breaking point Yiannis greeted me at the entrance of the drop-in centre for homeless people in Athens, Greece. You could sense that there was a time when he would have been considered a good-looking man, but now his hair hung in un-kept strands and his clothes, while clean, were ill-fitting and crumpled. He spoke English reluctantly but thoughtfully, pausing while he searched for the right word. Yiannis acted as my guide, showing me around the centre. “Anyone can come here. All you need is a need. No papers – it’s okay, no ID,” he explained. “We have only one rule in this building.” He raised his thumb and two fingers to his nose. “It must smell like a home.” Related: How social workers are changing lives for the waste pickers of Dhaka Related: The challenges of being the only social worker in eastern Congo Continue reading...
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