By the end of the year the government will have spent 8.5 billion forints (EUR 30m) on services to homeless people, Miklós Soltész, State Secretary for Social, Family and Youth Affairs of the Ministry of Human Resources said on Saturday.

Speaking at a facility of the Hungarian Maltese Charity in Kecskemet (SE), State Secretary Soltész said that government-assisted services ranged from providing care centres to permanent and temporary homes, as well as rehabilitation facilities. He stated that complex facilities were needed to assist homeless people in terms of accommodation, training and finding jobs, and referred to the Maltese Charity's home in Kecskemet, as an example.

Homeless shelters across the country can provide accommodation to 10,700 people, State Secretary Soltész said. In the Central Hungarian region, where most homeless are to be found, 480 million forints were granted through the New Széchenyi Plan and further 680 million forints in the other regions of Hungary.

(MTI, Ministry of Human Resources)