It would be safer, the families tell me, to sleep in the central reservation of the three-lane highway above us. This is where they used to sleep, but the police have forbidden it. Instead, they have been forced below the bridge. Here, fifty families live next to the river in three-sided shelters made from scrap wood.
A narrow stone path, the remainder of the riverbank, forms the street of this community. The children know the contours of the path well and jump effortlessly. I walk gingerly and cling to bits of wood to my left which I hope are secure. One misstep leads to a sharp drop into the unclean water below. There is no electricity or sanitation, and the bridge above, which cost millions to build, obscures the sky. Father Geo, a Vincentian priest, jokes with some of the families he knows well that they have the most expensive roof in Manila.
Their situation is sadly not unique. There are many communities living under bridges in Quezon City, one of the sixteen cities which form Metro Manila. Across Metro Manila homelessness is high – an estimated 4.5 million people are experiencing homelessness in the Philippines, and about two-thirds of this number are in Metro Manila. I’m visiting the country as Depaul International prepares to respond to this need by partnering with the Vincentian Family in the Philippines. During the trip, I see hundreds of people sleeping rough in a single square mile area. In Manila City, there are small encampments made from sheets balanced on tuk-tuks, which are used to make a living during the day and as a bed at night.
Exposed to the elements, life on the street and in slums is profoundly unsafe. These dangers are intensified in the Philippines, which is the most disaster-risk country in the world. I speak to people who cite water as one of the greatest hazards. Their informal settlements are much more susceptible to damage from typhoons and monsoon rains. Last year, during an unexpected early rain, the flooring of one shelter suspended underneath a bridge gave way, killing a father of three young children. I meet his widow and children, who still live there as they have nowhere else to go. With the effects of climate change intensifying, incidents like this will become more common if there is a lack of safe, quality housing. Already, the risk is increasing – 2024 was a record-breaking typhoon season, with six consecutive storm systems hitting the country in under a month.
Exiting homelessness is difficult, and lack of access to education and employment are barriers for many. I meet a young man who has completed school and found a part-time job – the only person in formal employment in his community of twenty families. His family’s hope of moving out of poverty and into permanent, decent housing relies on his future success. It is a weighty responsibility for a young man who is not yet twenty years old.
Programmes which respond to homelessness are present here, with many focused on working with unaccompanied street children. Tulay ng Kabataan Foundation, for example, does excellent work supporting children on the street. With the UN estimating that there are over 246,000 street children in the Philippines, these are much-needed programmes which protect children from the risk of exploitation, abuse and child labor.
Programmes which support families or single adults living on the street are markedly less developed. What does exist often focuses on providing food to those sleeping rough and is far from sufficient to meet the vast need. There is a distinct lack of housing programmes in Metro Manila. The government runs an outreach programme which collects data on thousands of people to assess need and provide emergency response to crisis cases. Although a welcome move, support to move off the street is confined to relocation outside of Manila, with no long-term options in the city. More must be done to help people make sustained exits from homelessness within the city itself.
In response to this, Depaul International is partnering with the Vincentian Family to explore housing programmes for families living on the street in Manila. Across the world, housing-led solutions have been proven to be the most effective solution to ending homelessness. They are a vital step to ensuring that safe, adequate housing is accessible to everyone – from the community I met living under the bridge to the hundreds of people I saw sleeping outside. Through these solutions, we can move towards a world where homelessness is eradicated.
Ewan Day-Collins, Head of Programme and Business Development
