Zsolt, who grew up in state care, now lives in an apartment purchased from public donations following the pardon scandal
In February 2024, several young people who had become homeless after leaving state care were given the opportunity to move into apartments. This became possible through a public fundraising campaign launched in response to the pardon scandal, while took responsibility for supporting the young people involved. Zsolt, whose story is shared below, is one of them. His story reveals many intolerable aspects of social reality, while also showing that with the right support, it is possible to recover even from the most hopeless situations. The portraits for our Role Model campaign were created by Lili Chripkó.
In the wake of the pardon scandal — and in the years since — some of the most serious cases of child abuse and institutional abuse within the Hungarian child protection system have come to light. The scandal reached the highest levels of politics and eventually led to the resignation of the President of the Republic, yet it failed to bring meaningful reform to child protection services. Following the case, a “proper lifestyle screening” systemwas introduced, but Péter Pál Juhász — the abuser known as the “monster of Szőlő Street” — passed the screening without difficulty, while many committed foster carers and child supervisors left the profession in protest against the new measures.
Insufficient funding has been allocated to replacing large institutions with family-based care, meaning that out of the 23,000 children currently in state care, around 7,000 still live in institutions today — most of them unlawfully. According to expert estimates and previous statistics, a very large proportion of children in state care are separated from their families because their parents are homeless.
And yet solutions to housing insecurity do exist. No child should have to grow up without a home, or become homeless upon leaving state care as a young adult. Through our work, we see countless examples of both situations.
In February 2024, well-known Hungarian influencers — Judit Bányai, Attila Baukó (Azahriah), Eszter Fancsikai, Márton Gulyás, Ádám Nagy, Edina Pottyondy, Zsolt Osváth, Márton Szabó, and Orsi Tapasztó — launched a public fundraising campaign during the Monsters Are Walking Outside Right Now demonstration to support the housing of a young man who had become homeless after leaving state care. They asked to implement the initiative, as our long-running From Shacks to Homes programme had already supported several people who had similarly ended up homeless after growing up in state care.
The initiative became widely known for its success: demonstrators donated more than 200 million HUF. Housing for Young People is now supporting its 12th client in moving into stable housing, following the success of the public fundraising campaign: besides the five apartments purchased directly through donations, our clients are now also living in apartments provided by Józsefváros, Erzsébetváros, the Municipality of Budapest, and Terézváros.
Until now, we have only shared the programme’s results anonymously, without revealing names or faces. Yet from the very beginning, people wanted to know who these young people were — those given a second chance through this collective effort.
The first to introduce himself publicly is Zsolti Mata — and we thank him for courageously sharing his story in our Role Model campaign.
Zsolti was born in Szikszó into a family living in severe poverty, as the fifth of five children. He was four years old when his parents lost their home. Although the law prohibits separating children from their families for housing-related reasons, as happens in so many cases, the family was torn apart: the parents became homeless, while the children were placed in state care. From the age of four until he turned eighteen, Zsolt grew up in a children’s home. During those years, one of his siblings died in a car accident, and the surviving children received no support in processing the trauma. Throughout his childhood, Zsolt remained in the same institution, growing up in Bicske until adulthood.
Like many others there, Zsolt became a victim of abuse as a teenager in the Bicske children’s home. As an adult, however, he became one of the brave young people who chose to testify and pursue legal action in the case.
Because he was neither studying nor employed when he came of age, he was forced to leave the institution alone on his eighteenth birthday — in the middle of winter — with nowhere to go. By then, his parents, who had spent the previous decade and a half homeless, were living in an abandoned, severely deteriorated building without utilities. They were able to take him in there, allowing the family to reunite, but the situation remained completely hopeless. At night, he slept with his family in a building without water or electricity; during the day, he wandered the streets aimlessly. During this period, both Zsolt and his parents struggled with substance use, and none of them believed their lives could improve. After months in this seemingly hopeless situation, he met one of his former carers, who helped him secure a place in an aftercare home.
Even so, the years spent in institutional care and on the streets left deep marks. According to Zsolt himself, his early years in aftercare alternated between aimlessness and periods of motivation. During the more hopeful periods, he worked while also attending evening school. By now, he has completed the equivalent of ninth and tenth grade and continues his studies in a programme leading to a secondary school diploma. He says that over time he has become increasingly persistent in working towards his goals. He also chose to speak publicly because he hopes his story can help prevent others from becoming victims of the system in the same way he once was.
Photo: Lili Chripkó
We first met Zsolt two years ago, shortly after the influencer-led demonstration, and he quickly became part of the group of young people working with us. He spent the past period in aftercare housing and recently moved into one of the apartments purchased through the public donations — the last apartment acquired through the campaign. The small but beautiful studio flat is located in a quiet, green suburban area. For the first time in his life, Zsolt has a home of his own.
Before moving in, Zsolt became the first young person in the programme to successfully obtain a driving licence. Thanks to this, he has already found work, though he also hopes to learn a trade in the future.
Right now, he is focused on settling into his apartment and building an independent life. He has further goals as well: he is saving up for a used car and has not given up on completing secondary school. He says he would like to start a family only once he has fully stabilised his life.
Zsolti’s story shows that young people leaving state care can rebuild their lives if they receive the opportunities and support they need — even after enduring immense hardship. Alongside Zsolt, eleven other young people currently participate in the programme, while many former clients with experience of state care have also taken part in our From Shacks to Homes programme since 2013. Through our work, we consistently see that those who receive proper support are able to build stable, long-term lives — and this experience offers important lessons for the systemic support of young people growing up in state care.
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