The Warsaw Voice
December 6, 1998 No. 49 (528) - News

The recent drop in temperatures has raised questions of sheltering the homeless.

The early wave of low temperatures, by Nov. 30, claimed 63 lives throughout Poland. "Around half of the victims were under the influence of alcohol, according to preliminary reports," Grazyna Puchalska of the National Police Headquarters' press office told the Voice. The present cold spell-with nighttime temperatures dropping to minus 12 degrees Celsius in the east of the country-should be over by Dec. 4-5, with temperatures returning to around 0 degrees. "However, this forecast, is only 50 to 60 percent reliable," warns Anna Nemec from the Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (IMiGW).

There were also a considerable number of homeless people among those that died, although, as Puchalska says, it will be difficult to assess exactly how many before legal proceedings start. "Some of those who died had no ID on them, but this does not necessarily mean they were homeless. Some of the dead, on the other hand, did have their documents with them, but people living nearby said that, in all probability, they were homeless," she explains.

Many of the homeless do not use the shelters available for them. These places not only give them somewhere to stay on cold winter nights, but can also provide reasonably permanent accommodation. "There is a huge rotation of people who come to us," says Joanna Kwiatkowska who works for Przystan (Haven), a shelter run by the Catholic charity Caritas, in Warsaw. "The rules and regulations of all these institutions are similar: Alcohol is forbidden. And a large proportion of the people are alcoholics, who often have quarrels and can be dangerous," she adds. Sometimes, a person seeking shelter turns out to be a criminal on the run.

Some shelters send people out onto the streets to invite the needy to make use of their assistance. But, especially in the case of alcoholics, even this tactic can fail. "If someone is interested in a place like ours, he or she can always learn about it from a local administration office or at a police station," points out Kwiatkowska.

When a homeless person decides to ask for help, they will always receive it. "We have run out of beds, but we bought mattresses last year, so we can use them if necessary," Kwiatkowska says. In Laski in Kampinoska Forest near Warsaw the shelter does not have the resources to accept an unlimited number of people, as it is for mothers with babies and small children. "But if we have no more beds, we suggest other shelters," says Marzena Leszko of Laski's Brother Albert Assistance Association. In the winter they are usually full up.

Both shelters and local administration institutions manage to carry out their duties in the field of social assistance properly, says a report by the Central Auditing Office (NIK). However, the shelters could always do with additional financial and material backing. "We do not lack anything at the moment, but we always welcome sponsors, as we are always in need of food," Kwiatkowska says.

Tomasz Oljasz