I hope that the research I have compiled sheds light on the homeless situation in Israel and brings awareness to NGOs like HomeBase that dedicate their time and resources to bettering the lives of those whom the Israeli government has struggled to reach.<\/p>\n
Homelessness in Israel:\u00a0An overview<\/p>\n
Ori Shoham, founder-CEO of HomeBase, an NGO that helps Israel\u2019s homeless transition back into society through group activities, told In Jerusalem that the State of Israel has reported approximately 3,500 street dwellers, the formal term Israeli policy uses for homeless.<\/p>\n
Of the 3,500 currently recognized homeless in Israel, approximately 1,500 live in Tel Aviv, followed by around 300 in Jerusalem, Shoham said. The number of homeless in Israel, and the general population living in poverty, has only increased in recent years since COVID and post-Oct. 7.<\/p>\n
On Jaffa Road in downtown Jerusalem, recently. (credit: FLASH90)<\/p>\n
In 2024, the OECD had already reported a larger number of 3,900 homeless individuals across Israel, 87% being men and 13% being women. Back in 2021, Tel Aviv\u2019s municipality reported 1,300 known homeless, according to Haaretz.<\/p>\n
\u201cHomeless people and street dwellers are the weakest link in our society,\u201d Shoham said. \u201cThey have legal issues, they have money issues, they have physical issues, they have health issues, they have drug issues.\u201d<\/p>\n
The criteria for someone to be recognized as a street dweller in Israel, however, is harsher than in all other OECD countries, Shoham said.<\/p>\n
To be formally recognized as a street dweller in Israel, the individual must be at least 18 years old, \u201clive in abandoned houses, gardens, public places, or building locations\u201d and be \u201csuffering from physical and emotional neglect,\u201d according to the Welfare and Social Affairs Ministry\u2019s Social Work Regulations. These individuals are \u201cusually without active relationships with their family, don\u2019t put in the effort to change their way of life, and cannot lead a normal lifestyle.\u201d<\/p>\n
This definition excludes individuals who many would consider to be homeless but, according to Israel\u2019s harsh government standards, are not. According to this definition, minors under the age of 18, people who cannot pay their rent or mortgage and are evicted from their homes, released prisoners, and people removed from their home under a court order due to domestic violence are not considered homeless.<\/p>\n
Thus, they cannot receive the services and benefits the government offers the homeless population. The harsh criteria, therefore, do not capture the full picture of Israel\u2019s homeless population, and the ministry\u2019s estimate could be hundreds off from the true number.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, in order to be formally recognized as a street dweller in Israel, each individual must go directly to their local municipality, which will then decide whether they fit the criteria of a street dweller. Not every homeless person is aware of this right, and some are not in the right mental or physical capacity to do this.<\/p>\n
This is one explanation as to why non-profit organizations record a greater number of homeless people than official reports do. To know the number of street dwellers in Israel, the Welfare Ministry consulted reports of recognized street dwellers receiving social services. In 2019, this was approximately 2,000 people. In 2020, the number increased to approximately 2,250.<\/p>\n
The Welfare Ministry<\/a> also collected data from 89 municipal social service departments, and these numbers were vastly larger than those the ministry had reported from their internal information system alone. In 2020, approximately 3,470 street dwellers were treated by social services, a 54.2% increase since 2019.<\/p>\n Local authorities additionally reported about 800 street dwellers who aren\u2019t treated, of whom a few hundred push away care and a few hundred are not legally recognized as street dwellers but are struggling with homelessness.<\/p>\n Furthermore, the Welfare Ministry collects its data on homelessness by cross-checking it with an annual questionnaire that local authorities fill out. Not every person who qualifies as a street dweller will go to their local municipality, as previously explained, and the data excludes those that many would consider homeless but aren\u2019t according to policy. Thus, the Welfare Ministry\u2019s numbers do not accurately reflect the true number of homeless in Israel.<\/p>\n At the end of the day, NGOs across Israel, who encounter the homeless on a much more personal level and reach those that the government does not, report larger numbers than the official reports do. Policies and funding can suffer from this, though, if the government is blind to the fact that the problem is worse than the Welfare Ministry\u2019s inaccurate reports claim.<\/p>\n What government aid do street dwellers receive?<\/p>\n Back in 2022, the Knesset released a crucial report, commissioned by MK Yasmin Sacks Friedman (Yesh Atid), that gives a deep dive into the government\u2019s homeless support and the holes in the system. Beyond not having a true estimate of Israel\u2019s homeless population, many reports and articles similarly argue that the Israeli government does not sufficiently support its known street dwellers.<\/p>\n One of the many critiques of the Knesset\u2019s aid for the homeless is that Israel does not have a national homeless strategy or provide a permanent housing plan, unlike the US\u2019s Housing First strategy and other countries.<\/p>\n The Welfare Ministry provides treatment units where social workers can provide individual support for the homeless. \u201cNo one will be able to actually recover on his own if he doesn\u2019t have any kind of support from outside,\u201d Shoham said. The Welfare Ministry also provides \u201cgagonim\u201d \u2013 temporary overnight shelters for emergencies.<\/p>\n In 2020, street dweller treatment units operated in 16 cities across Israel (6% of municipalities and 21% of all cities), with about 1,430 funded monthly slots with social services. In 2021, operations expanded to units in 19 cities (25% of all cities in Israel).<\/p>\n The supply of social workers still cannot keep up with the demand, with a ratio of about 10 social workers per 150 homeless patients, Shoham said. This means a patient will, on average, only be seen about once a month, which is not sufficient support for any homeless individual.<\/p>\n Along the same lines, in 2020, gagonim operated in only seven cities, providing about 180 beds total.<\/p>\n The Welfare Ministry also works with nonprofit organizations to operate additional residential facilities for the homeless. One example is the Gagon and Lasova associations, which worked with the Tel Aviv Municipality<\/a> to build 15 night shelters for Tel Aviv\u2019s homeless, housing about 200 residents a night.<\/p>\n The government provides recognized street dwellers with two monthly stipends: NIS 800 to cover living costs and NIS 1,100 in aid in renting an apartment, which is paid directly to the landlords, Shoham said.<\/p>\n Despite the government\u2019s efforts, the 2022 Knesset report concluded that only 27-33% of Israel\u2019s street dwellers could be housed at any given time, which means there is a lot more work to do to ensure more homeless can be supported simultaneously.<\/p>\n What the system lacks in its approach to homeless aid<\/p>\n The government spent about NIS 28.5 million on services for street dwellers in 2020, which includes additional expenditures related to the pandemic. According to Shoham, the current amount of allocated money toward homeless people is only about NIS 15 million a year.<\/p>\n There is also no budget solely allocated to homelessness, the 2022 Knesset report said. Rather, different ministries \u2013 including the Welfare Ministry, the Construction & Housing Ministry, and the Health Ministry \u2013 allocate some of their budget toward supporting Israel\u2019s homeless and broader poverty-stricken population. But despite their best efforts, this system does not efficiently support the homeless.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody is doing a bit, but no one is looking at the big picture,\u201d Shoham said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t use their resources in a smart way,\u201d he explained. \u201cSo they put money in, but you will not see one homeless person that gets back to life because of this, because it\u2019s really shallow.\u201d<\/p>\n The 2022 Knesset report revealed the number of Israelis living on the streets has increased over the past few years, and government services have been insufficient in helping all homeless people. Friedman commented that \u201cthere is a lack of holistic understanding of all the resources needed [to prevent people from winding up on the street] and rehabilitation,\u201d Ynet reported in 2022.<\/p>\n Another strong critique is that the Israeli government uses a lot of its allocated homeless budget on immediate (emergency) support but not long-term support, according to Shoham. They need to focus on reallocating the funds better, he argued.<\/p>\n