The mein Heim project

What is a home? What is it like to live on the streets without four walls, without protection, without any means, in poor sanitary conditions and in the midst of a pandemic? Who are these homeless people, these people that live on the streets all year round, sleep in parks and on benches? What stories do they have to tell? These were questions I asked myself when I started contemplating the subject matter and content of the project, which I called mein Heim (my Home).

You can really ponder the questions, What is a home and what does it represent as a psychological phenomenon? I have been interested in the House and the Home for a while now, and I have been working on a video project with this theme. In a 1948 essay, French philosopher Gaston Bachelard dedicated an entire chapter to the House (1). The house we grew up in we carry with us our entire lives. It is so imprinted on our minds that we can remember details of interior, wallpaper patterns, layout, smells, etc. We all once grew up in a home, a house or a flat. It may have been a good and positive upbringing, or it may have been traumatic and difficult. Nevertheless, they are places we mentally return to in dreams and reveries, and which evoke feelings of protection, warmth and nurturing, or for some, nightmares and bad memories.

With the coronavirus pandemic, which highlighted the home as a refuge, it was important to me to make this a central element in my project. What memories did the homeless people have of the places, the flats, the houses they grew up in? Did they want to be back in a home of their own? I also wanted to ask questions relating directly to the pandemic and how the virus impacted their daily lives.

The interviews I did in Berlin, Germany, show that people become homeless for a variety of complex reasons. Frequent reasons are drug or alcohol addiction, unemployment, divorce, or a lack of identity papers and therefore ineligibility for benefits. Berlin also has a large group of homeless elderly people who ended up on the street because of sheer poverty. Many others live with different mental diseases. If you lack the finances you can’t pay the health insurance required to access the necessary treatment. Lastly, some people live on the street of their own choice. Besides their daily challenge of standing in long queues for a shower or food, they often feel stigmatized. They are treated differently by public officials, the police and various public institutions. As one of the interviewees put it: In Germany the have-nots are nobodies, that’s the way this country is, sadly.

An official head count in January 2020 put the number of homeless people in Berlin at 1976. It is common knowledge though among politicians and charities that their numbers are in fact much higher, with a realistic estimate being 10 to 15,000. In spring/summer 2021 another head count is planned to obtain more realistic numbers and discover any seasonal fluctuations.

The interviews were done between 26.05. and 22.06.2020, the majority in the large public park Tiergarten by the Bahnhof Zoo station. The Tiergarten park is the hangout of a large number of homeless people and a base for several charities. Tiergarten is steeped in history. From 1520s, it was the private hunting grounds of the Prince of Brandenburg. In the 17th and 18th century, it was converted into a park and opened to the general public. Today, the park is the bedroom, living room and hangout of a large number of homeless people in Berlin. Most of them have at some point slept there, on benches or in sleeping bags, hidden among trees and bushes. It’s an idyllic, green lung in the middle of Berlin which is also frequented by homeless people, prostitutes and gays. Tiergarten is the prime recreation spot of most Berliners.

It was important to me to do interviews that were at once matter-of-fact and intimate. The replies expose the individuals and destinies to a high degree. The interviews are intended to reflect their diversity by including females, males and different age groups. They capture the experience of a particularly vulnerable group during the outbreak and course of the coronavirus pandemic in Berlin. My wish is to afford a glimpse into a group of people who are as diverse as the rest of us. Despite their difficult situation, many of them have the ability to look forward. They try to keep a positive mindset and rebuild their lives. As an outsider and viewer, I am humbled by their strength and courage.

References:
1.“La terre et les rêveries du repos” (Earth and Reveries of Repose) from 1948 by Gaston Bachelard (1883–1962)