Frozen country
Construction of shelters should be everyone’s business
On a quiet, sunny, and bitterly cold morning, passersby hurrying on their way to work or the grocery store glanced in horror at the motionless figure of a man lying spread-eagled on the trampled snow. The man’s head was covered with a dirty piece of once transparent plastic, and a half-open bag with the dead man’s meager belongings lay nearby. Too preoccupied with its urgent matters, the city kept hurrying somewhere, while he lay there alone face down, with his arms spread wide, as if pleading for some invisible person to help him, at the same time trying in vain to defend himself from merciless fate that hovered like a black cloud over his ruined life. But it seems that he was hoping in vain. The desperately needed help never arrived. The merciless cold stiffened the dead man’s fingers that had not been washed in a long time, the cold filled the suffering body with burning needles, and his long-suffering soul silently departed.
The man could not find shelter for the night. But he wasn’t always like that, the way he was living those final years of his life. According to passersby, who recognized the dead man as their former neighbor, he started drinking after losing his job at a long defunct plant. He earned a living by collecting empty bottles and wastepaper, selling them for pennies to industrial collectors of recyclable materials. He got divorced from his wife, and his ailing mother died a few years ago. After his mother’s funeral his drinking escalated. But along came some “well-wishers,” who “supported” him through his tragedy: for a whole month they would come every day with food and drink. They genuinely commiserated over his loss and then asked him to sign some documents as a friendly favor. He signed them without thinking twice. Really, what wouldn’t you do for true friends? The next day the new owners came knocking on the door of his now former apartment, and he found himself out on the street. Somebody had capitalized on human tragedy, and eventually our hero paid the ultimate price for his tragic indiscretion.
As a rule, homeless people have it especially hard when the temperature drops below zero. Meanwhile, this winter many Ukrainian regions have experienced temperatures well below minus 30. Unfortunately, in Ukraine, much like in all of Eastern and Central Europe, democracy and capitalism often walk hand in hand with homelessness. These people are unemployed, homeless, and lonely. The number of homeless people in Ukraine is rising with each passing year. Today this problem exists on such a scale that it can no longer be resolved without targeted government aid. In my view, a permanent commission on the civil rights of homeless individuals should be created in parliament. An important aspect of the activities of such a commission would be helping to solve the problem of identifying individuals without a permanent place of residence. Such a status means that they have limited opportunities for receiving their pensions (since they have no registration) or finding employment (impossible without a personal ID). Perhaps it would be worthwhile to have the Ministry of Internal Affairs look into the possibility of issuing temporary IDs to certain categories of homeless people at district police precincts. This would greatly simplify access to social rehabilitation for these disadvantaged citizens.
Centers for the homeless should be created first in Kyiv and then in every Ukrainian city. Such centers should form a network of homeless shelters, where such individuals would be able to live for a time or leave their documents or belongings in safekeeping. People staying at such centers would be provided with free tea, soup, and other types of simple foods, as well as clothing and footwear. Funding for such a center could come from the All-Ukrainian Foundation Prylystok, which would collect funds to assist the homeless. Naturally, the municipal authorities would be expected to allocate some funds for the program to assist this socially disadvantaged group. Construction of shelters for marginalized citizens should be a matter of concern to Ukrainian society. This problem should also be addressed by the government, if we are to avoid a situation similar to the one that occurred in southern Poland several years ago, when nearly 200 homeless people died from the cold. It makes sense to develop a new social strategy at the governmental level with respect to those citizens who urgently need our help. A key feature of this strategy should be the government’s effort to root out the deeper causes of homelessness and develop a number of preventive measures to stop people from losing their dwellings.
At one time a large number of homeless people spent much of their lives at various government institutions. These are people who grew up in orphanages and some who spent time in prison. In my view, the problem stems from the fact that the government is not helping such people make the transition from life in an institutional setting to normal life in society.
Perhaps it is worth mentioning the successful experience of Great Britain, where special health care brigades have been formed in London to search for homeless individuals and provide them with necessary aid. These special brigades are authorized to provide emergency aid to the homeless, drug addicts, alcoholics, and mentally impaired individuals. They work in the streets of London after midnight. So far 10 such contact groups have been formed in London. Their task is to immediately reserve beds in clinics for drug addicts or in mental hospitals for people who need treatment.
In my view, Britain’s new approach to resolving the problem of homelessness is important. They shift their focus from supporting homeless people on the streets (a practice that encourages such a lifestyle by the distribution of food and money) to creating services that collect people from the streets in order to help them achieve self-sufficiency and the ability to work in the future.
The key to resolving the problem of homelessness in Great Britain lies in the focus on the most vulnerable individuals who are addicted to drugs or alcohol, as well as the mentally ill. Aid agencies focus on providing greater support to young people released from prison, mental hospitals, or those discharged from military service, while coordinating the work of organizations that provide free soup and clothing to the homeless. In addition, contact groups are trained to identify the problems of homeless people and refer them to appropriate services.
Without a doubt, the government must immediately take control of the problem of homeless individuals in Ukraine, while civic organizations and social foundations will provide significant assistance in resolving this complex problem. For if our country is truly civilized, then “wild people” abandoned by society should not be roaming our streets.
