Affected person tells

Hidden poverty is a major problem in Burgenland

Single parent Marlene Horvath shopping in a social supermarket. She didn't want to be photographed from the front. She is too ashamed of the social stigma.

(Bild: Reinhard Judt)

More and more Austrians are no longer able to keep their homes adequately warm, eat a proper meal every other day or replace worn-out clothes with new ones. But poverty is not a disgrace. Seeking help is certainly not. 

Around 360,000 people in Austria are acutely affected by poverty. Poverty is also a sad reality in Burgenland. But often a hidden one, because in the countryside, where everyone knows everyone else, the issue is usually even more shameful than in the anonymous big city. Families with children and single parents are particularly affected.

Marlene Horvath(name changed) is one of them. The 37-year-old self-employed naturopath from Seewinkel is a single mother of three children. Until the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020, she generated a good turnover. But then that was over.

Social services such as Caritas support people living in poverty with a wide range of services.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/stock.adobe.com – Shisu_ka)

Pandemic triggers the downward spiral
Because body-related service providers like her were particularly affected by the lockdown restrictions and she had to wait a long time for funding, she had to rely on her savings to make ends meet due to the months of lost earnings. After several operations in 2021, she was still unable to work.

In the previous year, her relationship broke up. She and her children also had to put down a six-month deposit for a new place to live and work. "I worked and worked to make up the shortfall in my bank account. The result was a burnout. Since then, I've been in outpatient rehabilitation and have been living from hand to mouth," says Horvath.

The high food, rent and energy prices are a major problem. If politicians don't want even more people to slip into poverty, it is essential that they act quickly. The bureaucracy involved in applying for benefits could also be simplified. Then perhaps more of those affected would claim their social welfare benefits.

Marlene Horvath, armutsbetroffene Alleinerzieherin von drei Kindern

A stew on the table every day
She has just under 2,300 euros a month at her disposal. This sum is made up of the rehabilitation allowance, the family allowance and the state's maintenance advance. Horvath receives this for the two older children because their father has been registered as a welfare recipient for more than ten years and claims that he is unable to pay alimony, even though, according to Horvath, he is "living large".

"Apart from my parents and a few friends, nobody knows about my plight. I'm afraid of a social stigma. That's also the reason for my withdrawal." Horvath goes shopping at the social market: "We eat potatoes, pasta, rice and vegetables. I can use them to prepare filling stews. Unfortunately, I can't afford a pot roast or beef schnitzel." The debts for rent, gas and electricity were covered by the Caritas "Wohnschirm".

Marlene Horvath is still unsure what she will give her children for Christmas this year: "Maybe I'll find a little something for them here in the social market."

(Bild: Reinhard Judt)

Call for compassion
From 1 January to the beginning of November this year, 855 people seeking help came to the advice centers of the social services in Eisenstadt, Neusiedl, Oberwart and Güssing. 591 of them were supported with rent subsidies. Food vouchers worth 44,211 euros were also distributed.

Diocesan Bishop Ägidius Zsifkovics and Caritas boss Melanie Balaskovics called for donations on Sunday.

(Bild: Reinhard Judt)

With more and more tenants having to vacate their apartments due to outstanding payments, Caritas Director Melanie Balaskovics and Diocesan Bishop Ägidius Zsifkovics are calling on Burgenland politicians "to continue the rent cap beyond February 2025. That would be a concrete step towards relief!"

In order to be able to continue helping, Caritas is collecting donations in the parishes next Sunday, the World Day of the Poor, as part of the "Elisabeth Collection". Just 30 euros is enough to keep a family in need warm in their home. With 100 euros, on the other hand, you can help single parents in need, such as Marlene Horvath, to finance a week's shopping.