Summary

A teacher assigned to a school in Apokoronas was forced to sleep in a tent with her four-year-old daughter because she could not find affordable housing in the area. Mayor Charalampos Koukianakis learned of the situation, contacted the teacher directly, and offered her temporary accommodation at the Parthenagogion municipal building in Vamos. The mayor has announced he will bring the broader housing crisis facing teachers and workers in Apokoronas before the Municipal Council for urgent discussion.

Teacher and Toddler Slept in a Tent. Apokoronas Is Now Acting.

A teacher posted to a school in Apokoronas arrived at the start of the academic year only to find herself with nowhere to live. Unable to afford the rents in this popular tourist region of Crete, she ended up sleeping in a tent with her four-year-old daughter.

When Mayor Charalampos Koukianakis heard about the situation, he tracked down her phone number, called her personally, and offered her a room at the Parthenagogion — a municipal building in Vamos that can now open its doors to someone who came to the community to serve its children. The teacher accepted and is expected to move in immediately.

Tourism Boom, Housing Bust

Apokoronas is one of the most scenic and sought-after corners of Crete, and that popularity comes at a price for the people who live and work there year-round. Holiday rentals have squeezed long-term housing out of the market, rents have climbed sharply, and public sector salaries — including teachers' wages — have not kept pace.

The mayor was direct: this is not just one woman's misfortune. The housing crisis in tourist areas has become a question of social cohesion. When a teacher cannot find a home, the problem does not stay at the front door — it follows her into the classroom and affects the children she is supposed to teach.

The same pressure is felt by young families, new arrivals, and anyone hoping to build a life in the municipality rather than simply pass through it.

Two Solutions Being Developed

Koukianakis announced that the housing issue will formally come before the Municipal Council. Two concrete approaches are already being worked on:

Municipal buildings and spaces: The municipality will identify and open up publicly owned premises as housing for teachers and other workers.

Private partnerships: The municipality will reach out to landlords, organisations, and local residents who may be willing to rent or offer space at affordable rates.

The goal is to build a genuine safety net so that people who come to Apokoronas to work are not left to fend for themselves.

The mayor drew a parallel with the municipality's existing newborn support programme, which already puts concrete action above passive waiting:

First child: €1,500

Second child: €2,000

Third child and each additional: €2,500

The same proactive approach, he said, must now be applied to housing.

A Call to Local Residents

Koukianakis closed his statement with a direct appeal to the people of Apokoronas. If you have a vacant property, a flat that could be rented, or a space that could temporarily house a teacher or a family, please make it available. The municipality is actively looking for partners.

"A teacher came here to teach our children," the mayor said. "We owe it to her to say: Welcome to Apokoronas. You will not be alone here."

The housing crisis will be discussed at the next session of the Municipal Council.

PRESS RELEASE – A TEACHER, A FOUR-YEAR-OLD CHILD AND A TENT. THIS CANNOT BE THE SCHOOL WE WANT.

September 7, 2026, 8:56 AM

Yesterday I learned a piece of news that shook me to the core.

A teacher who was appointed to a school in our municipality came to Apokoronas to serve our children and found herself living in a tent together with her four-year-old daughter, because she could not find affordable housing.

I immediately found her phone number, got in touch with her, and offered her a housing solution at the Parthenagogion of Vamos — a municipal space that can today open its door to a person who came to our region to give.

The teacher accepted the offer and is expected to move there immediately.

For us this is not an act of hospitality — it is a matter of humanity, dignity and responsibility.

Because how can we ask a teacher to give her best in the classroom when at night she cannot sleep under basic conditions?

How do we expect a person to teach our children calmly, when her own child sleeps in a tent? And how can we talk about quality in education, when the people who hold the future of our children in their hands struggle to secure the bare essentials?

Apokoronas is a stunningly beautiful and touristic place, but this development has a difficult side too: houses are becoming scarce, rents are rising, and teachers' salaries do not keep up with the cost of living.

We all know this problem, and it does not affect only teachers — it affects workers, young families, young people who want to stay and build a future in our region.

The housing crisis, particularly in tourist areas, is increasingly becoming a matter of social cohesion, and when a teacher cannot find a home, the problem does not stop at the door of the home — it enters the classroom and touches our children. That is why we cannot wait for someone else to solve the problem.

Just as in Apokoronas we did not remain spectators in the face of declining birth rates and stepped forward with the newborn benefit — €1,500 for the first child, €2,000 for the second, and €2,500 for the third and each subsequent child — so too now we want to open a new path, because local self-governance must be present wherever there is need.

We know, of course, our capabilities and our limitations — municipalities continue to face a serious funding gap. But this cannot become an alibi for inaction: with what we have, we will do what we can. That is why we are bringing the housing issue before the Municipal Council.

At this moment we are working on two specific solutions, which are not limited solely to the use of municipal property — we want to make use of every available option: municipal and other spaces, and also to seek partnerships with private individuals, organisations, and people from our region who can and want to contribute.

Our goal is to create a real safety net for teachers and workers who come to Apokoronas to offer their services.

Because Apokoronas cannot be a place that has schools but is unable to house the people who teach inside them.

And I also want to make an appeal to the people of our region.

If there is a closed-up house, a flat that could be rented, a space that could temporarily accommodate a teacher or a family — let a door be opened.

We ask that we stand beside one another, because ultimately that is what Apokoronas is: a place that does not leave a person alone.

A teacher came here to teach our children — we owe it to her to say:

"Welcome to Apokoronas. Here you will not be alone."

This is the Apokoronas we want — the Apokoronas of humanity, solidarity, and action.

The Mayor of Apokoronas Charalampos Koukianakis