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Description
In the Dolnośląskie voivodship, 2 844 people are affected by homelessness (Ministry of Family, Labour, and Social Policy, 2019). In 2021, we took over the only homeless shelter in the county of Głogów, the Żukowice shelter. Apart from homelessness, the main problems of the residents are lack of skills and competencies, and little activity in the community. At our shelter, approximately 80% of residents are aged over 40, and the percentage of people over 60 is as high as 33%. Some people have a chance of overcoming homelessness following a concerted effort. This requires a psychological therapy and specialist counseling service to be set up. This project aims to expand the scope and forms of support for people in homelessness crisis and prompt them to be active in the community. We will provide shelter residents with psychological counseling (475 hours), community counseling (285 hours) and legal and financial advice (190 hours). This will be in the form of permanent shifts of specialists in an office which we will refurbish at the beginning of the project. We will encourage project participants to do voluntary work, making and delivering meals to people in need and at risk at social exclusion due to age, disability, lack of independence, or poverty (training on cooking, providing meals for 30 people in need for 40 days). 25 people in homelessness crisis at the Żukowice shelter will participate. The project will improve their self-esteem, independence, sense of agency, and ability for a balanced and objective assessment of one’s situation.
Summary of project results
The project addresses the problem of homelessness in Lower Silesia. The homelessness crisis there affects up to 2,844 people (Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, 2019), while the national statistics put the number at 30,000. In the Głogów district - in Żukowice - there is a shelter for men in crisis of homelessness, which has been run by the Project Promoter from 2021. Approximately 80% of the residents are over 40 years old, and 33% are over 60. The main problems of the residents - apart from the lack of permanent housing - are low social or professional activity, social problems and deficits in various skills.
The project expanded the scope and forms of support for people in crisis of homelessness from the district, residents of the shelter, and offered them a range of activation activities. A total of 67 people at risk of homelessness received support. These people received individual and group psychological support, professional counselling or assistance from a social worker, as well as legal and financial counselling. Specialists were permanently on duty at the shelter. 46 shelter residents developed their cooking skills under the guidance of a kitchen coach and subsequently prepared and delivered around 1,200 home-cooked meals to 46 shelter neighbours who were in a vulnerable situation, e.g. due to age or disability.
As a result, people at risk of homelessness received concrete support - psychological, legal, vocational and other. They have also improved their cooking skills and become involved in community activities. As a result, they have at least partially regained their agency and motivation to act. Their self-esteem and self-confidence have increased, as has their ability to assess their own situation in a balanced and objective way. The local community''s perception of people in crisis has also changed. After the project, a specialist surgery is still available at the shelter and residents continue to prepare home-cooked meals for themselves and share preserves with others in need. The project was a kind of pilot for volunteering for people in crisis of homelessness and the idea of volunteering is still being developed by the Project Promoter.