(IN)visible: helping homeless city residents

Charitable Foundation "Depaul" helps homeless people in Kharkiv get food and basic social services: help with document restoration, overnight shelter, opportunity to shower, get clothes, warm up in heating points during frosty weather.

Many such people remain without housing due to fraudsters or relatives who evict them from their homes. They have nowhere to live and no one to turn to for help. This is a global problem that needs to be solved comprehensively. To return to normal life, they need to go through all stages of socialization again, regain society's trust and self-confidence. However, doing this without a permanent place of residence is impossible.

That's why our foundation strives to raise funds of 30,000 UAH and improve working conditions of the Day Center and shelter for homeless people and center staff.

To equip the center and shelter, we need to purchase: bactericidal recirculators for air disinfection and kitchen equipment for independent food preparation. The premises, staff and all necessary living conditions are available, only equipment is missing.

▶️ About the work of Kharkiv branch of CBF "Depaul Ukraine"

We have been working with this special category of people for a long time, whose lifestyle is very different from most. They live in electric trains, basements, under balconies in abandoned buildings and simply on the street in any weather. So diseases and infections are constant companions in the lives of homeless people.

They don't have the opportunity to wash on time, change clothes and shoes, live in normal sanitary conditions. Therefore, they often look unkempt and suffer from chronic diseases or are sick without knowing it yet. Even those who come to our day center in the Kharkiv branch of CBF "Depaul Ukraine" to get themselves in order.

▶️ How does the "Day Center" work?

People come to the "Day Center" to wash, shave, get a haircut, change clothes and shoes to clean or new ones, rest and eat. They spend some time in the center, watching TV, resting, reading books.

Unfortunately, this is not a very large room and for the safety of people and workers it's necessary to constantly ventilate or treat the room with ultraviolet rays. It would be ideal to use a bactericidal recirculator, which would allow being in the room while simultaneously disinfecting it to prevent the spread of infections and viruses.

▶️ How does the "Shelter for the homeless" work?

We operate the "Shelter for the homeless" project, for accommodating 30 people, which is now at the stage of official opening.

The "Shelter for the homeless" is a charitable gift from caring generous people. It's a small space with five rooms for housing people without homes. The shelter has all conditions: bathroom, kitchen-dining room, bedrooms and isolation ward where people will be admitted without health examination. Therefore, it's necessary to use auxiliary means in rooms with increased risk of pathogen spread due to possible microbial contamination of air environment. Everyone preparing to live in the shelter will have to undergo examination and receive a doctor's conclusion about their health status.

To organize the kitchen in the shelter for temporary residence, it's necessary to purchase: electric stove, refrigerator and microwave oven. So residents can store, cook and heat their food.

▶️ We also operate other projects:

"Help on wheels" social patrol — street feeding every day, pre-medical aid, consultations and more.

"Legal support" — specialist consultations, practical legal support, help with document restoration, social benefit registration, court representation and more

"Help in hospitals and shelters" — visits, patient hygiene, consultations, treatment support, clothing, nursing home placement.

"Mother and child center" — accommodation for pregnant women, women with children up to 5 years old who are in difficult life situations and have no place to live.

"Help in places of detention".

We invite every caring person to join our activities and give homeless people a chance for socialization and return to normal life!