What about the homeless at Central Station? The situation around Hope has worsened
The management of the Prague 1 district announced in mid-March that it did not agree with the further lease of the U Bulhara municipal land for the Naděje association, which operates a service center for the homeless. “It is not permissible in the long run for this problem to be concentrated only in our part. Thirteen years ago, it was made clear that this was a temporary solution and that the municipality would implement a long-term solution to homelessness by May 2010. On the same date, the building was to be removed, “said Petr Burgr (KDU-ČSL), deputy mayor of the” number one “on social networks.
Hope provides shelter for the homeless in living quarters directly under the bridge of the north-south highway. It is located on the territory of Prague 2, which land belongs to the municipality. People come to the low-threshold day center alone, with the help of field workers or after discharge from the hospital. They are offered a shower, laundry, clothing, social counseling and medical treatment.
The Facebook post of Prague 1 arouse great interest, dozens of people they share and you will find almost 400 comments below it. She mainly condemned the intention. After a wave of criticism, the city district states that it values the work of the organization and even sends it financial contributions.
Deputy Mayor Burgr defends the claim that he is fighting homeless people, as follows: “I just want the municipality to live up to its obligations and provide them with more dignified conditions. The solution is to build a network of centers that would provide assistance throughout the capital. “
The municipality is counting on instructions, but has postponed it several times. “The place is unworthy, I’m not surprised people don’t like it. One thing is a technical solution that is temporary and bad, but the service makes sense. We are working for a change. Everything was delayed due to a wider revitalization of the space, “said Milena Johnová, a councilor for social services (Prague to herself).
In addition, the management of the metropolis expects that trams from Wenceslas Square will run to Vrchlický sady and the stop will move directly in front of the railway station building.
We are afraid of the homeless, say the locals
However, the owners of the surrounding properties do not want to wait and have written an open letter in which they ask the mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates) not to extend the center’s contracts and move it elsewhere. “At night you are afraid to walk through the park. When you unlock the house, worried about what will be behind the door again. Children do not use the beautiful playgrounds because they do not want them to see what is happening around the fence, “wrote Monika Martínková and Jitka Hauptvogelová in a statement by representatives of the Prague 1 citizens’ association.
In addition, according to them, the homeless do not comply with government measures. They believe that the existence of the center attracts them to the main railway station and to Vrchlický sady.
Director of Hope Daniel Svoboda thinks that the abolition of the center during the pandemic would be very unfortunate and the situation with homelessness would worsen. “Homeless people are not at the station because of us, Hope is here because of them. If the services for them move to the peripheral parts, the clients will not go after them, but will stay where they have the best conditions for survival, “he emphasized.
In Naděj, moreover, is the only place in Prague where we offer homeless people medical treatment, there is a general practitioner, dentist and gynecologist. They treated more than one and a half thousand clients last year. “We can thus protect the city from the risks of spreading infectious and parasitic diseases, which we treat several hundred a year,” added Svoboda.
Director of Hope and the management of Prague 1 agree that the issue of homelessness in the metropolis needs to be addressed systematically, and they can set up more day centers.
The complex of cells under the main road has been operating as a temporary building since 2006, when the council of the central city district agreed to its operation for four years. As a result, the non-profit organization finds itself in uncertainty practically every year, which complicates its planning.