Homelessness rises in Argentina's capital amid crisis

SUMMARY

Families living on the streets outside shopping malls, bus stations and parks have become an increasingly common sight in Buenos Aires, as an economic crisis, soaring inflation and a spike in utility bills fueled by austerity measures have left more people unable to afford a home.

By APMar 29, 2019 2:37:44 PM IST (Published)

Nicole Aleman lies inside a box on the street where she lives with her family in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A makeshift tent of cardboard and plastic bags on the side of a busy avenue in the Argentine capital serves as the shelter for the girl, her four siblings and her parents, who sleep sharing two old mattresses laid out on the concrete. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

A man sleeps at one end of a two garbage dumpsters on a street in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Hector Garcia and Maria Ortega sit inside their makeshift tent on a sidewalk in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Leaning out of a structure made out of layers of cloth and plastic tethered to a supermarket cart, Garcia jokes with passers-by. “You keep laughing, you will be right next to me soon,” he sometimes tells people with a laugh. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Damiana Aleman holds her daughter Valentina in front of their makeshift tent on a sidewalk in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Shelters in Buenos Aires are at full capacity. But since most are divided by gender, families usually prefer to stay on the streets rather than splitting up. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Cecilia Aleman sits on her bedding where she lives with her family on a sidewalk in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Cecilia's family paid about $116 per month in rent. Their finances collapsed when they received an electricity bill that at $240 was more than double that figure. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

A man sleeps on a bench in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Valentina Aleman sits on the sidewalk where she lives with her family in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The two-year-old runs down the sidewalk, dodging cardboard boxes, a worn-out sofa and a broken refrigerator without noticing the cars zooming dangerously close to her and others risks of living on the streets. “Being here with (the children) is not nice. The main risk is their health,” Valentina’s mother, Damiana said. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Maximiliano Aleman lies on a mattress on a sidewalk in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)