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Description
Homeless people are excluded from the housing and economic spheres of society, but also from others - family ties often do not exist or are weak, social network is often reduced to communication with people in similar situations, they are excluded from political and cultural life of the community, etc. Although official data provided in the Ombudsman''s report for 2020 show that the Croatian Centers for Social Welfare registered 511 homeless people in 2020, the Croatian Network for Homeless People estimates that there are between 2,000 and 10,000 homeless people in Croatia. Humanitarian Association "Savao" agrees with these estimates. Volunteers of the association met with many people (mostly through the activity „Mobile soup kitchen“) who are completely out of the system and encounter difficulties while trying to include. These difficulties are related to the needs for psycho-social, medical, and legal support. Beside taking care of their existential needs, the volunteers of the association supported them in solving these problems. Still, there is a need for establishing of professionalized system of help and support. Through the project the volunteer work will be upgraded with the establishment of a mobile expert team. Thus, help and support for homeless people, their social inclusion and civic engagement will become more efficient. The work of the mobile team will be accompanied by actions of public awareness, mobilization of citizens and advocacy activities and encouraging cooperation with various stakeholders in the local and wider community. Activities will be multiplied in Sisak-Moslavina County, where earthquakes have left many people homeless, and there is a possibility of multiplication to other associations dealing with this area.