In Hungary, every third citizen lives under the poverty line, often in substandard, energy- poor housing. 30,000 people don’t have a home at all and homeless shelters cover only a tiny fraction of the demand, yet sleeping on the street is against the law. Losing your home also means losing your children to state care. As a result of extensive changes to the constitution and the social welfare system in the past seven years, homelessness has been criminalized and social benefits have been stripped to a bare minimum. Poverty has become a vice in the public eye. But AVM, a group of activists, homeless and middle class, confronts the authorities to defend social justice and human dignity. AVM – A Város Mindenkie – translates into their name and motto – The City Is For All. In the spirit of the Civil Rights Movement, they organize protests, flash mobs, live chains and other non-violent direct actions.
This is the story of their fight, which takes an unexpected turn when they discover something more powerful and transformative than political victories – AVM as an alternative society, a community that nurtures inclusiveness, participation, personal growth and dignity, human connection and solidarity.