The Need in Armenia


During the past two decades Armenia underwent several economic and political crises: the devastating earthquake of 1988, the inflow of refugees in 1990-1993, the newly proclaimed independence and the collapse of old system, land reform and inflation, economic crises - all contributed to the enormous poverty housing in Armenia. According to the UNECE, about 40.000 familes are without permanent shelter. Alongside them, tens of thousands of families require better housing conditions. Altogether it is estimated that about 100,000 households are either without permanent housing or need urgent assistance.

There are four major aspects to today's housing crisis in Armenia:

1. Too many people crowded into too little space. Several unrelated families and multiple generations of one family often crowd into small apartments. The living space per person is far below the minimum set by the Armenian government. Not only does this situation threaten people's physical health, but it contributes to a variety of psychological and family problems, including increased divorce rates.

2. Instability of rental arrangements. Many families rent apartment or houses, but with sudden increases in rent or a fall in income in Armenia's difficult economy, families easily face eviction and a life on the streets.

3. Living in basements and domiks. Out of desperation, families turn to living in basements of unfinished homes and in metal containers, called "domiks." A home in a basement means living on the ground with a leaky, makeshift roof, no sanitary facilities and very little protection from the elements and other dangers (such as scorpions). Domiks are metal containers meant for storage, not for living. They are freezing in winter and unbearably hot in summer.

4. Inadequate housing conditions. Many families live in homes that are detrimental to their health. Asbestos was commonly used in roofs and walls, many homes have no heating system, others have crumbling walls and interiors in disrepair, and more than half have no toilet, bathing facilities or running water.

HFH Armenia is implementing a combination of approaches. We are helping the families who dwell in unfinished houses or "domiks" to complete construction of their unfinished houses, providing the families with the necessary construction materials, expertise and volunteer help and using Habitat model.
We are also assisting the needy and qualifying for our model families with partial renovations of their houses - replacing asbestos roofs, putting water/sewerage systems in the houses and installing heating systems.