New faces of poor among Athens homeless

Page last updated at 19:10 GMT, Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - 00:10 EST

AFP:

A homeless man sits by debris in central Athens

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It is hard to miss the colourful house with its walls covered with graffiti in Metaxourgeio, a working-class Athens district.

Here, immigrants push supermarket carts full of metal scraps, while in garages only old cars are being repaired.

In this little red house, alongside the railway line, the homeless come to find warmth and shelter, clothing, food or at least psychological support.

Klimaka, a non-governmental group formed in 2000 and backed financially by the health, foreign affairs and labour ministries, aims to help those who have lost the most.

In Athens, the profile of a homeless person has changed with the economic crisis, said Effie Stamatogiannopoulou of Klimaka.

"Before, the categories of people on the streets were immigrants, alcoholics and drug addicts," said Stamatogiannopoulou, a professional nurse.

Read the whole story: AFP