Arzt der Armen

Poor people die earlier. The mortality rate of people affected by poverty in our society has increased significantly. 31 percent of men affected by poverty do not reach the age of 65. Poverty thus means not »only« less social participation opportunities, but also having to die younger in one of the wealthiest countries on the planet. Illness leads to poverty, and poverty leads to illness. Prof. Dr. Gerhard Trabert strives to break this vicious cycle and has thus been treating poor and homeless people in Mainz and the surrounding region for 20 years. He greets his patients with great respect – patients who, even when they are insured, often do not visit a doctor out of fear of stigmatization. Trabert estimates that, of the approximately 18,000 people in Germany who live on the street, 90 percent require long-term medical attention. Andreas Reeg accompanied the physician and his homeless patients for three years. The result is a photo project that calls on the viewer to not look away and scrutinizes the notion of equity with images full of respect. Andreas Reeg has received numerous awards for his social photographic documentations and his photos have been published in, among others, Der Spiegel, Die Zeit, and Chrismon. His first photobook, Menschen mit Down-Syndrom (Kehrer 2003), was awarded the German Photo Book Prize.