His story is intertwined with the Association’s – Pali’s story
The stories of many of our long-term tenants and clients are deeply intertwined with the history of itself. One of them is Pali Mércse, whom many of us first met when he was still very young. Meeting him and his family profoundly shaped the kind of social work and housing programme we wanted to build. In the forests surrounding Budapest and in abandoned industrial areas, countless failures of the social care system become visible — and these failures are not just statistics, but heartbreaking human lives. Among the people living there are elderly and ill individuals, people struggling with addiction, and young people who have only just aged out of state care and cannot find a place for themselves in shelters, for many different reasons.
Pali’s family came from a rural area near the Ukrainian border. His mother was the youngest of many siblings. His grandparents were simple working people, and although several family members were talented, all of them achieved only low levels of formal education. Before the political transition in Hungary, Pali’s uncles and mother supported themselves through physical labour, and continued to do so for as long as they could afterward. The family belonged to those who quickly lost their footing after the collapse of state socialism. As forced industrialisation was dismantled, more and more people lost not only their jobs, but eventually their homes as well.
Pali was one of four siblings. When their mother also became homeless, the children were placed into state care. Over time, the siblings were not always able to grow up together: some were placed with foster families, others in institutions. Their paths diverged in different ways. Pali came of age in state care. We first met him as a very young man — gentle-faced, soft-spoken, and respectful — living homeless alongside his mother in her shack in the forest.
For us, it was completely unacceptable that such a talented and kind young man should be pushed out into the woods instead of living the life any young person deserves. Pali himself also found this unacceptable, which is why he joined the housing rights activist group as an activist. The independent news platform Mérce still preserves the text of a fiery speechhe gave at a protest in 2013.
Pali’s family was eventually able to start a new life through our Housing First From Shacks to Homes programme, launched in partnership with the 10th District Municipality of Budapest. According to the Housing First approach, housing is a human right, and secure housing is not the final goal but the starting point for reintegration into society.
Pali’s life and family are among the best examples of this principle. When Pali found a partner, they were able to move into a rental apartment of their own. The siblings occasionally worked together, but also found jobs independently. Today, Pali and one of his siblings have been working as chefs for many years, while their older brothers found employment in construction. Still, the years spent living in shacks did not leave without scars. After moving into housing, Pali wrote a dreamlike short story about exclusion and marginalisation for the magazine Fedél Nélkül (“Without Shelter”).
The most beautiful part of their story is that Pali’s daughter no longer has to experience what it means to be separated from one’s parents because of poverty. The eleven-year-old girl, much like her grandmother and father, is talented in drawing and writing, and she performs well in school.
Her story shows most clearly what is truly at stake in the right to housing: that families should be able to live with dignity. We are incredibly proud of Pali and his family. He sets the best possible example for his daughter through his perseverance, and by sharing his story through the work of the Association, he also helps others. To help even more people, we need your support. Thank you for donating 1% of your income tax to us.
