Hi! My name is Henrik, and I’m reaching out for help during the hardest time of my life. Since December 1, 2024, I’ve been homeless in Bavaria, Germany, after losing my job, home, and savings. Despite my best efforts, I’ve been unable to find work or housing, and I’m now staying temporarily in a friend’s living room until July 2025. I’m determined to rebuild my life, but I need your support to get back on my feet.

I used to have a stable life, working hard and paying my bills like everyone else. After the pandemic, my job was shut down, and I never really recovered. I got the first job I could find, living paycheck to paycheck until last year, when I lost everything. Finding new housing in Europe has become extremely hard since 2015. It got much harder since 2020. Last year alone I spent over €10,000 on the cheapest hotels to avoid homelessness, but my savings ran out after my working contract ended last year. I’ve applied to countless jobs ever since—supermarkets, delivery, hotels, cleaning, and more—but haven’t been hired. On my very first job interview, the manager Ahmed told me he only wanted to hire Egyptians. Europe has many incentives to hire employees based on "Diversity, Equality and Inclusivity". I've been open to all sorts of jobs. My laptop, which I used for freelance graphic design, broke after 5 years of good care, cutting off another income source. I’m currently borrowing a friend’s laptop to share this story.

Finding housing in Bavaria is nearly impossible. Munich is one of Germany’s most expensive cities, and affordable homes are scarce. The landlords also avoid renting to people without a high status job they deem stable, and since 2015, they receive more messages than they can manage. I’ve contacted landlords across Bavaria, but none have responded. I'm even willing to move to a different country in Europe if I find housing and work there. Government assistance and shelters have turned me away, claiming European citizens should not be in need of shelter, claiming shelters were only for non Europeans, leaving me with no safety net. I slept outside. My skin cracked from the cold in the Winter. I never felt so humiliated. It's an experience that deeply changes you and leaves you in a mode of constant survival mode. I’ve gone hungry at times, surviving only thanks to a few kind donors who helped me buy food.

I’m not on welfare, have no family to rely on, and all my friends blocked me when they've learned I was going homeless, except for the one who's letting me stay with him until July, who's a very kind person. I’ve always worked hard and handled life’s challenges independently, but now I’m in a place I never imagined—asking for help. It’s humbling to share my story, but I believe in fighting for a better future.

How You Can Help:

I’m raising 30K to cover:

• Housing, so I can cover an entire year at once, since I don't have a guarantor
• Food and basic necessities
• A used laptop to restart freelance graphic design
• Transportation to job interviews
• Pay out the debt I got into when trying to avoid homelessness
• Fund my most urgent needs at the dentist and at the doctor

Every donation, no matter how small, brings me closer to stability. If you can’t donate, please share my story or pray for me. Your kindness gives me hope to keep going. Thank you, and may you be blessed for your generosity.