The China Mail - Ship ahoy! Prague's homeless find safe haven on river boat

The 49-year-old ended up on the street after a divorce more than two decades ago, sleeping on benches or in dormitories.

He moved to Hermes when it opened in February 2007, and he has recently become its paid captain and maintenance worker with his own cabin.

"It's cool to have a place to stay that is warm and where you can wash," Cervenka, a trained blacksmith, told AFP.

Hermes is one of several safe havens for the growing number of homeless people in Prague.

Statistics are scarce, but the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) put Czech homelessness at 104,818 people in a 2024 report.

With 0.97 percent of population affected, the Czech Republic is the third worst-off among OECD members behind New Zealand and Slovakia, it said.

The Czech Statistical Office said in 2024 that 154,000 Czechs were affected by "acute housing crisis", including 61,000 children living in dormitories.

Jan Frantisek Krupa, heading the Czech branch of Salvation Army, put the number of homeless Czechs "somewhere between 30,000 and 70,000".

"But I'm not counting those who live in non-standard housing, dormitories or flats with a short-term contract. If we included them, we'd be over 100,000," he told AFP.

- Sand and gravel -

Hermes opens at 7:30 pm and closes at 6:30 am all year long, accommodating 180 people, with 30 beds for women and 150 for men.

Dozens of people clutching plastic bags queued before the opening outside the long, low boat on a freezing January evening as a cold snap sent temperatures way below zero.

"Bed occupancy is naturally lower in the summer when it's under 100 people, while before winter... the boat is full with 160 to 180 people," said Katerina Prochazkova, the head of social services on Hermes.

Clients must be sober and able to negotiate a rather steep staircase leading to the boat financed by Prague city hall.

After registering, they can take a shower and have a cup of tea, while cooking is prohibited in the wooden interior.

Prochazkova said the boat had transported dry material like sand and gravel on the Elbe river before being revamped into the shelter.

"It is the largest dormitory for the homeless in the country," she told AFP.

David Mudroch first came to Hermes last October after struggling to pay his rent. He left in November as he got a job with accommodation.

"But they sacked me in January because of a hand injury so I came back. I hope it won't be for long," said the bespectacled 22-year-old, seeking a job as an ambulance assistant in a Prague hospital.

- 'Involve the public' -

Last June, the Czech parliament passed a long-awaited law on housing support which will offer assistance to home seekers from September 2026.

A social inclusion strategy for 2021-2030 vows preventive steps and social aid, but the new government in office since December does not tackle homelessness at all in its policy statement.

The labour and social affairs ministry did not answer questions sent by AFP.

To involve fellow citizens in tackling homelessness, the Salvation Army, which charges fees for stays, launched a unique project a decade ago.

Ordinary Czechs can buy virtual "lodging vouchers" for 100 Czech koruna ($5) apiece to help the homeless with costs that are not covered by the state, for instance meals.

"The goal is to involve the public in aid to people on the street," said Krupa.

The Salvation Army has sold 25,000 vouchers this season because of a severe winter.

"Many people, especially in large cities and on freezing nights, come over without any money and we want to make sure that this will not prevent them from sleeping at a Salvation Army dormitory," Krupa added.

Half an hour after opening, the tidy Hermes turned into a buzzing place as clients flocked in, with Jaromir Cervenka overseeing the bustle and waving aside any idea of a romantic place.

"I never hear the waves splashing. I prefer to switch on the TV."

L.Kwan--ThChM