Does not accept help

Homeless man causes tension in Mariatrost

A man has set up his accommodation at a bicycle stand in Mariatrost; he rejects emergency accommodation.(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

A homeless man is causing a stir in the north-east of Graz. The head of the Mariatrost district, Erwin Wurzinger, believes that the mayor of Graz, Elke Kahr, is responsible - but the man has refused help for over a year.

Nobody has to sleep in the open in Styria, says Jakob Url, who runs the Caritas winter emergency shelter. But you can't force anyone to accept offers either.

For a good year now, a man who lives at the Mariatrost terminus has been causing displeasure in the middle-class district of Graz: "The site is very exposed, next to it is the farmers' market, the gentleman is mobbing people and littering the area," says ÖVP district leader Erwin Wurzinger. "We are at the end of our tether."

Punishments achieve nothing
Mayor Elke Kahr (KPÖ) is aware of the case - but she emphasizes that you can't force people to move into an apartment. Appropriate offers had been made, which the man refused. Punishing him would achieve nothing.

Wurzinger counters: the man only wanted to move into a ground floor apartment, the social welfare office had not responded to his request. It remains to be seen whether he will stay in the winter.