21.1.2021 7pm IST
How to differentiate between beggars and homeless people and more about homelessness.
▪︎1.
A Beggar looks and dresses dirty .
It's a business for them.
They go back to their homes .
They seldom smell .
▪︎2.
A Homeless is actually unclean and in majority of cases is of unsound mind .
They will not constantly nag you for alms ,
If you give they will take.
They eat from dustbins and left overs .
They have no place to go at night .
How does one become homeless ?
*Run away from home
*State of depression due to many reasons:
failed family life or love life ,
Rejection from family ,
No education ,
No job or no money ,
Alcoholic or substance abuse ,
Sickness ,
Etc .
*poverty
*system failures
*domestic violence
Solution to homelessness ?
Shelter homes either State run or NGO run.
Central government scheme ?
Yes available.
Who should implement the homeless scheme?
Urban bodies as most homeless are in cities .
Lack of humanity is what causes the homeless to be where they are .
Eviction drives by the law are not the solutions to homeless people.
Each urban body in the city should have their own shelter home to address the issue which is need of the hour .
Picture yourself being homeless and see the pain and humiliation one goes through.
This is how the process starts to being homeless:
☆ 1. Arrives or forced to live on the streets.
☆ 2. Hunger , heat , dust , dirt kills you slowly.
☆ 3. Slowly you begin to loose your mind
☆ 4. Hallucinations start .
☆ 5. Long hair, long beard or unclean clothes
☆ 6. U loose your senses
Solution to coming out of homelessness :
☆ 1. Admission to a mental institute if the law authorities have some pity on you .
☆ 2. Natural death due to malnutrition.
☆ 3. Some NGO picks you up and takes you to a home and looks after you.
We @ Street Providence have been rehabilitating homeless people last 3 full years .
Till date 350 + have been picked up and close to 90+ are being taken care off currently, free of cost .
80 % of these homeless people in our homes are on medications which are not cheap .
As of today taking care of homeless people with mental issues requires permission under THE MENTAL HEALTH ACT .
We thank the GOVERNMENT OF GOA for supporting us in this mission by not stopping our work .
But looking forward to better facilities from the Chief Minister of Goa .
For over 2 years we have been waiting for the permission but no reply to our letters.
What do we do?
Do we wait for the permission?
Do we keep accepting from the police more such homeless people?
Do we shut all our homes and add all the homeless in our homes to the streets ?
I dont know .
We were driven our of a home in South Goa and cheated early this month and see the result in that city .
The same authorities which refused to understand the gravity of our problem in this home which compelled us to leave are today asking us to help in rehabilitation of the homeless which are being evicted due to the drive in that city .
Why this city never had the same issue last 1 year ?
Because we were accepting from both the local police stations through Goa Police and rehabilitating most of these people from this city in this home.
Remember where ever there is a big government hospital , there is bound to be homeless people.
Here in this city you have :
☆ Railway station
☆ Bus station
☆ Government Hospitals two of them .
But no shelter home in the city .
Give us :
▪︎a place in the said city,
▪︎the grant which the municipalities has
▪︎the necessary licenses
▪︎medical aid and medications and
we will take care of the homeless in and around this particular city in this home .
But dont try to harass and pressurise these homeless people who majority are of unsound mind and 40 % will be our own goans .
Whatever I have expressed is facts and straight out of my experience in this field.
It's not meant to put down anyone.
You as the society too can play your part in being part of this homeless issue.
NGOs cant manage without donations and grants.
By coming April 2021 , we will be looking after close to 150 homeless people who
80 % will be with mental issues with woman being 50 & men being 100 as we adding 2 big homes exclusively for homeless street woman .
God bless you always
Donald Fernandes
8380097564 / 7020314848