The past months have seen the COVID-19 pandemic and its health policy measures having massive effects on the life situations of almost everybody. Even though research suggested a further increase in precarious situations for the lower social strata, research on the living conditions of people who were in a financial precarious situation already before the crisis has been almost non-existent.

Therefore, this project aims to explore how the pandemic has changed the life situations of those affected by poverty from a life situation analytical perspective and compare the problem situations in a collaborative project design. In more concrete terms, a project team (3–4 students) interviews families who receive ‘Mindestsicherung/Sozialhilfe neu’ (minimum income benefit / social assistance under Austrian law), older people who receive ‘Ausgleichzulage’ (compensatory supplementary payment to people falling below a minimum-pension threshold under Austrian law), and people affected by homelessness.

The students of the project team support each other in completing their final theses. They dedicate their theses to one of the abovementioned groups of affected people and analyze qualitative, narrative, and problem-centered interviews. In a final round of collaboration, the project teams bring together their results and compare the life situations of the three affected groups to highlight similarities and differences.

This topic’s relevance is emphazised by the fact that very little is known about life situations during the pandemic. As a deterioration of the situation is to be expected, it is necessary to approach the topic from a scientific and Social Work perspective to alleviate the effects.