But it is entirely possible and it is happening more and more often with children too.

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Around 30 million children grow up in relative poverty in the 35 richest countries in the world, almost 1.2 million of them live in Germany. Around the same number of children in Germany miss out on necessary things such as regular meals or books. These are the results of the new UNICEF study "Measure child poverty – New rankings of child poverty in the rich countries of the world".

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Where child poverty is highest

The study shows, among other things, the rate of children between the ages of zero and 17 who live in households with an income below half the respective national mean. In the table, child poverty is given in brackets:

1. Iceland (4.7 percent)	13. Germany (8.5 percent)	25. Poland (14.5 percent)
2. Finland (5.3 percent)	14. France (8.8 percent)	26. Portugal (14.7 percent)
3. Cyprus (6.1 percent)	15. Malta (8.9 percent)	27. Japan (14.9 percent)
4. Netherlands (6.1 percent)	16. Belgium (10.2 percent)	28.Lithuania (15.4 percent)
5. Norway (6.1 percent)	17. Hungary (10.3 percent)	29. Italy (15.9 percent)
6. Slovenia (6.3 percent)	18.Australia (10.9 percent)	30. Greece (16 percent)
7. Denmark (6.5 percent)	19. Slovakia (11.2 percent)	31. Spain (17.1 percent)
8. Sweden (7.3 percent)	20. New Zealand (11.7 percent)	32.Bulgaria (17.8 percent)
9. Austria (7.3 percent)	21.Estonia (11.9 percent)	33. Latvia (18.8 percent)
10. Czech Republic (7.4 percent)	22. Great Britain (12.1 percent)	34th USA (23.1 percent)
11. Switzerland (8.1 percent)	23. Luxembourg (12.3 percent)	35. Romania (25.5 percent)
12. Ireland (8.4 percent)	24. Canada (13.3 percent)

Child poverty is falling slightly in Germany

The UNICEF research institute in Florence evaluated the latest available data for the present study – most of them, however, date from 2009. To compare the income poverty of families with children, data from the EU states and six other OECD countries were available . Germany has improved slightly since the comparative study in 2005. In contrast to most countries, the proportion of children growing up in low-income households fell from 10.2 percent (2005) to 8.5 percent (2009).

Without child benefit, tax breaks and social benefits, the poverty rate in Germany among families with children would have been 17 percent in 2009 – twice as much as the measured 8.5 percent. Germany is one of the ten countries in which child poverty is less common than adult poverty. But other countries are doing significantly more to improve the material situation of children. When comparing the rate of child poverty before and after government interventions, Ireland, Hungary and the United Kingdom are the most significant reductions in the number of children in poverty.

"It’s disappointing"

In addition to the relative income poverty, UNICEF is for the first time also comprehensively documenting absolute poverty among children with the help of a so-called deprivation index. Overall, as in previous studies, Germany only scores mediocre in this comparison.

"It is disappointing that Germany does not manage to improve the material living conditions for children significantly" said Christian Schneider, Managing Director of UNICEF Germany. "In times of budget consolidation, it is particularly important to provide targeted support to the most disadvantaged children. The federal, state and local governments must jointly set clear goals with time limits in order to gradually reduce poverty and exclusion. In rich industrial countries, no child should have to go without essentials."

Germany is well behind economically strong nations

The deprivation index covers a total of 14 different goods or offers such as a place for homework, internet connection or leisure activities, for example in a sports club, and is intended to reflect the reality of poor children in rich countries more concretely. The basis is a representative survey of the European Union, for which 125,000 households were asked for the first time for data on children. Around 13 million children in 29 industrialized countries lack more than two of these basic things. This is assessed as an indication of a particular deficiency situation. In Germany this share is 8.8 percent.

In a country comparison of the shortage situations, Germany ranks 15th out of 29 countries and scores significantly worse than Denmark (2.6 percent) or Sweden (1.3 percent), although the countries are on a similar level in terms of per capita income and economic development Level. Compared to Sweden, which is second in this ranking after Iceland, the deprivation rate in this country is almost seven times higher. Children in Great Britain are also doing better than in Germany, although the per capita incomes there are on average lower than here. The highest rates of deprivation can be found in the poorer countries of Europe such as Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary.

One in 20 children does not receive a hot meal every day

Most often, children in Germany lack regular leisure activities (6.7 percent). Almost one in 20 children have to forego a warm meal every day (4.9 percent). 4.4 percent of girls and boys have no place to do their homework. 3.7 percent of children own a single pair of shoes at most. 3.1 percent of those under 16 never get new clothes and three percent live in a household without an Internet connection. It is particularly common for children in Germany to miss out on important things when their parents are unemployed (42.2 percent) or when they have a low level of education (35.6 percent).

To fall through the social network in Germany is not easy. But it is entirely possible and it is happening more and more often with children too. In this context, the Federal Association for Aid for Homeless People complains that the number of people without a home is steadily increasing, and that the limit to homelessness is being exceeded ever more quickly, even for families. In 2012 alone, around 284,000 people stood on the streets. Eleven percent of them were children and adolescents.

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Homelessness is often a series of unfortunate circumstances

Somehow you always think that this cannot happen in Germany. Especially not with children. And it is also true: in the rarest of cases one becomes homeless overnight. But it is often a very unfortunate chain of circumstances that leads to people suddenly being left without a home of their own. Illness, unemployment, strokes of fate, relationship problems, often a mix of everything, can throw you completely off track. If no reserves could be built up due to previously low earnings, then there will be enormous bottlenecks. And in the worst case, eviction.

Address payment problems early on

But some homeless families would never have got into the situation if the problem had been addressed early enough, of that the Nuremberg property manager Sabine Scharrer is sure: "I can of course understand that one is ashamed. But landlords aren’t monsters either. If one of our tenants tries to talk to us early enough and explains the situation to us, a mutually acceptable solution can be found. Everyone can get into a difficult situation. But if, as I have unfortunately had to observe many times and also with parents, you simply shut down, no longer pay the rent, do not answer letters and hang up again when you call, then you reap little understanding on the other hand." If need be, eviction will be taken.

Solitude on the edge of society

Once you have one "failed tenancy" as it is called in official German, behind you, then it will be difficult to find a place on the housing market again. Once homeless, potential landlords naturally have great doubts as to whether someone will fulfill their obligations associated with renting an apartment. On the other hand, there is also the frequent social withdrawal, resignation, apathy and often a defensive attitude towards offers of help and authorities. 

Debt counseling alone is not enough

Measures to prevent homelessness are becoming more and more important, especially with regard to families with children. Sometimes even the social welfare offices step in with grants or loans to protect against homelessness. The quality of the local aid system is decisive here, because "homelessness prevention is the best help" explains Werena Rosenke from the Federal Housing Aid Association (BAG-W). There are corresponding specialist offices in many places – including the most necessary debt advice. However, a large number of the people affected remain asian marriage sites unreached or need additional help due to the severity of the problems.

The municipalities are on their own

"If the loss of the apartment could not be prevented, it must be a matter of moving those affected back to their own living space as soon as possible. The situation in Germany is very different. There are regions and municipalities that are very well positioned, in others the infrastructure is rather patchy. Especially in the eastern German federal states, but also in more rural regions." In a position paper, the BAG-W complains that not all cities and municipalities fulfill their obligations to legal accommodation, do not offer any offers or do not do justice to human dignity. In this context, minimum standards are required, such as the provision of advisory offers and further help.

A simple apartment offers protection

When they lose their home, many families initially stay with friends or relatives. As long as this is the case, they are not homeless in the eyes of the regulatory authorities and are therefore not recorded by the statistics. But the more children a family has, the sooner a solution has to be found. Homeless people are entitled to housing. And not only for protection from the weather, but also as a protected space

Even if there is no nationwide uniform regulation: It is the task of the municipalities to make this space available. So one tries to fall back on special homeless shelters for families or so-called simple apartments. "These are kept very simple, small and often only have minimal sanitary facilities" knows Werena Rosenke.

Children’s needs sometimes take a back seat

Usually it is avoided to quarter homeless families with other homeless people. But sometimes you have to switch to simple pensions or cheap hotels. "Most municipalities will try to avoid hotel accommodation because of the best interests of the child." Because the corresponding hotels are usually in rather dubious districts. "In times of great housing shortage, i.e. when proper accommodation is occupied and no normal replacement apartment can be found, it happens that families are quartered in these hotels."