Armáda spásy pomáhá bezdomovcům/ Salvation Army helps homeless

Brno – Bydlím na malé vesnici, kde se lidé navzájem znají. Před dvěma roky jsem začala studovat v Brně žurnalistiku a sociální politiku a sociální práci. Studium ve velkém městě pro mě není jen pobyt ve škole, ale i nákupy v centru města. Každý den zde potkávám bezdomovce všech věkových kategorií. Většina z nich je pod vlivem alkoholu nebo se chová výtržně. Jako studentka sociálního oboru se musím pozastavit nad otázkou, proč město nedělá něco pro to, aby tyto skupiny lidí dostalo z centra Brna. Mají bezdomovci vůbec nějakou možnost, aby se ze své situace dostali?

Petra Koutná
217681@mail.muni.cz

Nearly 350 people visit Centre of the Social Care Josefa Korbela in Brno . They get there food, clothes and bed.

When he first became homeless, after divorcing his wife nearly 25 years ago, Bohumil Hakl says he enjoyed the freedom of living on the streets. He had friends, they bought cheap wine, and slept wherever and whenever they wanted.

However, two years ago – while hospitalized with a broken leg – he decided to change his ways. “I was thinking about my life,” says Hakl, now 65 and still walking with crutches. “I felt hopeless, and I don’t want to die on the street.”

He is one of 350 homeless living in Brno who today take advantage of the housing and feeding services offered by the Salvation Army, Centre of the Social Care Josefa Korbela in Brno . But they are only a fraction of the city’s overall homeless population. Roughly 1,200 homeless is living on the streets in Brno . “According the research data from March 2006 three quarters of the homeless are men. They are between 25 and 60,“says Pavel Kosorin, director of the Salvation Army in Brno.

There are about 550 beds for homeless in Brno . Some are in Salvation Army, another in shelters which establishes Diocesan charity in Brno . “The capacity of the homeless shelter is insufficient,” estimates Leoš Veselý, who works at Department of social care in Brno . He throws in: “In summer they can sleep outside and work in seasonal labours. But in winter, when nights are frosty they can freeze to death. It is only because of lack of the beds in homeless shelter. I think the city shall to support to homeless organization.” Kosorin disagree. “Homeless aren´t willing to observe the rules of our organization. They better are staying at the street then being in charge of social activists.”

Every day they have opportunity to change their lives. “However in our Centre is only three hundred fifty beds, we are filled only from 95%,” says Dalibor Bakala, coordinator of the activist. It isn’t because of the lack of information. “The most of the homeless people know about the support offered by Salvation Army. We have one field social worker who offers to homeless the first connection.” He goes through Brno where are the localities in question of homeless. “I tell them which help they can get in Salvation Army and I can see them into day centre, “ says Renata Bližňáková, a field social worker. But the organization has its rules. The homeless can’t come drunk and not be aggressive.

There are about twenty seven locations where homeless are staying and sleeping. The most of them stay in the centre of the city. There they have anonymity of the community. “In small villages the homeless are an object of derision. But in bigger cities they can stay with the group of people who are in the same situation and solve the same problems. “Because of the anonymity of the big city, homeless people move to Brno from the surrounding, “specifies Bližňáková. Time after time people walking around and give them some money. “They don´t realize they support them. I think the better way of aid to homeless is to contribute to charity organization. There they use the money for food for homeless.

“When homeless have money, they use it for buying alcohol,” says Bakala. It is also the reason why Centre charges the homeless fee. Bakala explains this. “It is because if it is paid, we force homeless to save money for food, not to spend it for alcohol. The prices are only symbolic. It is not enough for payment the costs.“ The Salvation Army has financial support from South Moravian district, European social funds, Department of work and social care and City hall in Brno.”

The tendency of the social activist is to bring the homeless to the Centre. There they can buy articles for their hygiene. They can have a shower for two crowns. For the same price they can wash their clothes. From eight a.m. to five p.m. they can buy very cheap food. Two crowns they give for bread with spread, five crowns for soup with two slices of bread. Food is very similar every day.

“We have also supply of second hand clothing, says Libuše Barošová, volunteer receptionist . She daily meets about sixty people, who come to put to use services of daily center. The most of them come to eat. Then they return to the street. “It isn’t our intention. We want to resocialize them. “In our center they get professional guidance for their return to the society,“ says leading activist Bakala. He estimates, the communism kept homelessness strictly in check, but since the 1989 revolution it’s exploded in Brno . “During the communism everyone, who didn´t have work, was committed to the prison, “says Bakala. After revolution the compulsory labour service was annulled. The beginning of the Salvation Army in Brno dates back to 1992, three years after the fall of communism. Kosorin says, by the lifetime of the shelter the number of homeless had increased, so in February 2006 Salvation Army has opened the second sanctuary living in Brno . “We welcome the fact that the city wants to develop a strategy of solving the issue of homelessness. We have also financial support from South Moravian district, European social funds, Department of work and social care and City hall in Brno .” At the question of the homeless in future Kosorin answers the number of them will be increase. “During the winter, we bargain expansion of homeless. In the summer, many clients head out of the city, where they can make a bit of money doing seasonal work, for example during the harvest of fruit or on building labour. In the winter, it becomes a lot harder to survive. Also because of fiscal reform, people will have problems to secure themselves financially. And it is like vicious circle. We need more money from state budget to help homeless,” sums up Kosorin.