By Andreas Jagersberger | Philanthropy & Partnerships
Poverty has arrived in the middle of society. The story of Leo (name changed to protect client’s privacy) shows how much Corona has changed people’s life’s. When you meet Leo at House Elisabeth in Salzburg, it doesn't take long for him to talk about his great love: the theatre. Even as a child he was a statist at the world famous Salzburg Festival, and after his studies (music and Italian communication studies) he worked in Vienna, Graz and Salzburg. "The beauty of the theatre is the diversity, that you can also learn something about history through the plays and work together with so many different people on- and offstage," says the 55-year-old enthusiastically.
The first time experiencing poverty
Leo never thought it would happen to him: Poverty. "I was employed by the Landestheater in Salzburg and at the State Opera in Vienna, was insured, went to the coffee house. And now I'm going here to get a warm meal," says Leo. In recent years, he has worked as a freelance artistic director and assistant director. Due to the repeated lockdowns during the pandemic, he lost all of his assignments. For several years, Leo has lived in a Garconniere which his grandfather had given him. Otherwise, without an income, he would probably be living on the street.
Social counselling centre: Help when nothing else works
Soon his savings were exhausted and the AMS (Labor Market Service) stopped payments because he couldn't get enough job applications together. "For example, I applied to be a museum supervisor but I wasn't accepted because I was overqualified," Leo says. When he didn't even know how he was going to afford food, he turned to Caritas. Here he was given a few hundred Euros to make ends meet for the next few weeks.
During social counselling, Leo also learned about House Elisabeth, a day centre with social counselling, which also offers a winter emergency sleeping accommodation for women. There, people who find themselves in emergency situations receive a warm meal, can chat with others during the day, play games, or simply relax and get some peace and quiet. At the beginning it was difficult for Leo to come here, since he had never needed help before. But he is grateful that he gets warm meals here and can exchange with others. “To chat with the two fellows at the meal distribution is very refreshing. They bring such a coolness and are very professional at the same time."
The biggest dream: Working again
Soon, however, Leo would like to return to a normal everyday life. "At the moment it feels like being retired, only without money," he says, "Yet I still want to work for a long time. As long as I am mentally and physically fit." His greatest wish would be to have a fixed commitment again and to finally get back on his feet.
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