Homeless shiver on Milan streets as Olympics bring wealth nearby

Shortly before 10 p.m. on Sunday, volunteers in scarlet windbreakers and blue berets climbed to Platform 12 at a train station northeast of Milan’s center and checked on five men sleeping on thin mats. They handed out hand wipes, apples, sandwiches and, in one case, fresh underwear.

Their rounds have taken on added urgency during a cold snap: local police say six people have died of hypothermia in recent weeks, some found close to Olympic venues where spectators pay as much as $1,650 for a ticket. Milan’s boom has widened gaps. The city has drawn wealthy newcomers with tax breaks, and the number of millionaires rose 24 percent to 115,000 between 2014 and 2025, yet average annual income remains just over $39,000.

Rising demand has driven rents up about 40 percent since 2018 and pushed many into homelessness; a 2024 Debenedetti Foundation survey found roughly 2,400 people living on the streets or in shelters in Milan, more than three-quarters of them foreigners.

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