Péter’s story
Childhood is finite, and when families are torn apart by poverty and homelessness, parents do not always get the chance to rebuild their relationships.
Even before the launch of our No Monsters Outside Now protest movement and our Housing for Youth programme, we had several tenants and clients who grew up in state care. There is a profound difference between the pain of a child whose parents visited but could never take them home because there was nowhere to go, and the trauma of a child who is abandoned or abused by their family and therefore placed into institutional care. Among our clients, both experiences are painfully common. Growing up in state care is one of the major risk factors for becoming homeless later in life.
When a parent and child maintain contact in these circumstances, there is both hope and anger present — hope because the relationship survives, and anger because things could have been different. Our client Péter (name changed) also grew up without his parents. His mother suffered from severe illnesses, including mental health problems, and was unable to care for him. They received no support — neither with housing nor with mental health care — which meant that during his childhood, Péter was not safe either because of housing insecurity or because of his mother’s condition.
As a young adult, Péter became homeless himself, unsure of what to do with his life. At first, a religious community provided him with stability and support. Members of his congregation helped him find work and later also supported him in applying for housing. When Péter finally moved into his own apartment, he made the decision to take in his mother and care for her himself. What he had not been able to receive as a child, he now chose to provide for her.
Our clients’ stories continue to teach and humble us. We deeply admire the extraordinary strength they show — especially when, even after enduring the most difficult circumstances, they still find the resilience not only to confront their own past, but also to support their families and others around them.
