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Description
In Romania there are 162,375 homeless. Their access to social and medical assistance services is very difficult, over 60% of them do not have identity documents and are so de-socialized that they have lost the ability to contact institutions and organizations for help. Over 25% of homeless adults have psychiatric problems that can be diagnosed by direct observation, and 40% have developed disorders similar to psychoses. About 56% of people on the street due to mental problems consume alcohol and suffer from diseases such as schizophrenia, personality disorders with varying degrees of delay.
Through this project we intend to contribute to the recovery of the well-being, even of the dignity of people who face significant difficulties, and a first step is to perform body hygiene and wash clothes. Warm-hearted people from the Don Guanella Opera go out on the street at night to greet their friends who suffer from the cold, offering them hot tea, some food, a blanket, a dressing or a medical product they need. If necessary, these people are taken to the doctor, they are given provisional bulletins and they ensure that, as much as possible, they receive the necessary care. Moreover, the people of the street are offered understanding, warmth and empathy. Through the voluntary activity carried out so far, we have managed to identify and support over 150 homeless people in Iasi. Getting in touch with the reality in the field, we managed to identify the main needs of the homeless and to think of a project to come to their support by offering the services of body hygiene and the possibility of hygiene of the articles of clothing by setting up the "Social shower" service, which will provide the possibility of performing the body hygiene for over 110 homeless people, who will be able to use this service regularly.
Summary of project results
Homeless people''s access to social and medical assistance services is very difficult, most of them not having identity documents and being so desocialized that they lost the ability to turn to institutions and organizations for help. The quality of life is very low for these people and simple hygiene and psychological needs are difficult to fulfill.
The main activities were identification and mapping of the target group - by coming into contact with the reality on the ground, the team was able to identify the main needs of homeless people; the establishment and operation of the "Social shower" service - this has been a continuous activity during the project implementation, 5 day a week, each day going to a different location, constantly offering the existing services; development of the volunteer network for homeless people - in order to support the activity of the caravan and the project team, it has been developed a network of volunteers.
The purpose of this project was to restore, through the activity of volunteers, the well-being and the dignity of people who face significant difficulties, by performing body hygiene, washing clothes, hairdressing services, and providing medical consultations and material assistance, psychological support and counselling. Through this activities there have been identified and supported over 110 homeless people in Iasi. The services provided not only managed to improve the well-being of the homeless people but also improved the mental, emotional, and the relationshipt between them and the rest of the society. The way the team related to their needs made them understand that they are equal and dignified people, having the right to a decent life, which also changed their personality. In addition, it has been developed a network of volunteers with 30 members.