Vienna adds 1,000 winter places for homeless people

Vienna has added 1,000 places for homeless people through its winter support package, including a new emergency shelter in Floridsdorf. ORF reported the expansion on Friday, ahead of the cold season.

The shelter on Siemensstraße, operated by the Vienna Social Fund’s subsidiary FSW Obdach, is part of the package for the first time. It has 120 places for individuals and couples, with capacity to expand by 60 during prolonged cold spells or periods of high demand.

Last winter, sustained periods of cold posed a particular challenge, said Vienna Social Fund managing director Susanne Winkler. She said the additional capacity was created so more places could be made available quickly if needed.

Shelters open around the clock

Emergency shelters in the winter package are open 24 hours a day. The offer also includes heated day centres. The Vienna Social Fund coordinates the package with the Samaritan Association, Caritas, the Johanniter, Volkshilfe and the Red Cross. Around 2,900 people used the services last winter.

Caritas has also reopened its cold-weather hotline, which can be reached around the clock at 01/480 45 53 until the end of April. In its first 24 hours, it received 66 reports about people without homes. Two people were taken to emergency accommodation, including one who was severely hypothermic. The cold-weather app is also back online. Winkler said it received 3,200 reports last year.

Year-round support and targeted services for women

Separate from the winter package, the Vienna Social Fund finances around 4,630 places and 2,440 support units in homelessness services throughout the year. In 2025, 13,260 people used these services, at a cost of about 166 million euros to the city.

“Nobody should have to sleep on the street in life-threatening temperatures in our city and risk their life,” said social affairs councillor Peter Hacker of the Social Democratic Party. NEOS social affairs spokesperson Arabel Bernecker-Thiel said the city’s support network should ensure nobody is left without shelter on a cold winter night because no place is available.

Women now make up about one-sixth of winter package users, up over the past five years. This year, one emergency shelter is reserved for women, while other shelters have separate areas for them. FSW Obdach managing director Roland Haller said women’s homelessness often remains hidden, with some women staying in violent relationships or precarious housing. He said private rooms in shelters and mobile support through the Housing First approach had helped services reach more women.

Two homeless people froze to death on the streets of Vienna last winter. Haller said the deaths should not have happened, and that the additional places this year can be activated within hours during a cold wave.

Haller also said heat is becoming a concern for people without homes. Day centres already have cooled rooms, one night centre has a cooling system, and street outreach workers carry sun protection and water. He said homelessness services and society as a whole would need to address heat more in the coming years.

Despite the city’s spending constraints, Haller said he did not expect cuts that would affect the poorest people, and noted that there are more places this year. Service providers have been asked to work more efficiently, including through digitalisation. The budget for next year is sufficiently clear for planning, he said, and is due to be presented in November.