Field Work 2

(For Homeless)

Not only caring the street children but also providing their parents and other homeless people health care and opportunities are our works.   

Part 1) Night Shelters and Blanket Distribution

A Permanent Night Shelter run bu other NGOs and governments in Delhi

Temporary Nght Shelters where we provide blankets in Old Delhi

Night Shelters : With the supports of MNGO, butterfly NGO and governments, homeless people are provided night shelters in winter and Aman Sathis have been monitoring some of them providing blankets there. There are about 150 night shelters in Delhi including temporary and permanent ones. 64 of them are permanent and rest of them are temporarily built to protect the homeless from icy wind in winter time. (However, 30 of them are not actively used because of the suburb locations.) 
There are some issues of security using the shelters so in order to provide them secure shelters, shelters are managed by guards and regularly visited by Aman Sathis.  

Blanket Distribution : (1. Distribution Station) People who choose to sleep on the streets are distributed blankets to cover themselves and to keep warmth in cold nights. Homeless people mostly have no place to keep their personal belongings so we provide them some stations where they can keep their blankets collecting them in the morning and make sure they don’t sell the blankets for drugs. It is also an effective way to avoid the blanket hygiene problem such as infection. We manage the blankets putting name tags of users in night shelters and stations so that homeless can use their own blankets rather than sharing blankets with others.

Also,

(2. Mobile Distribution) Aman Sathis are distributing blankets moving around the city in winter nights. Many homeless who are addicted to drugs tend to sell the blankets which they received from NGO to buy drugs so we are targeting homeless people who already felt sleep without any cloth or blankets to cover.  ‘Koshish’ is supporting us to mobile distribution and collaboration. 

The blankets we are distributing were given by individual donators and funders.  So far, approximately 1400 of blankets have been distributed.

Part 2) Medical Support for Vulnerable Homeless People 

The Aman Health Clinic (Nizzamudin Delhi/ 9 - 5pm) 

:  Our outreach as well as the effectiveness has improved manifold since January 2009 , after the Aman Health Clinic become operational in . The homeless and precariously housed people face enormous challenges to access health care services because they are so invisible, illegalised and powerless. It is difficult for them to access beds and OPD in government hospitals and most NGO’s also fail to reach out to this population.

 The Clinic is open 6 days a week , 4 pm to 9 pm in the evening . Since its inception, it has catered to almost 22,000 patients with miscellaneous ailments. It has a full time medical practitioner and three health workers. This is supplemented by voluntary services from other doctors. It runs in the evenings considering that homeless people move from one place to the other in the day time and return to the streets at night. The basic objective of the clinic is to provide free health check-ups, medicines and referrals to appropriate government and private hospitals. This street health initiative also helps establish a health baseline of children when they come into the Homes. The homeless are made to feel comfortable at the Health Clinic and their concerns are tended to with dignity.

Part 3) Research and Suggesting to governments

Everyday, Aman Sathis visit the places where the homeless people are resident and listen their stories.

Through visiting, talking to them and persuading them Aman Sathis build strong bonds and faiths with the homeless people. Closely stepping into their lives, we figure out their problems and try to remove their inconveniencies. We check their lives and suggest to receive supports from governments and in the meanwhile we also find more effective ways to implement governments schemes for the homeless people like Ration Cards, ID Cards, and etc.

* Intervention Zone

      North Delhi

Jama Masjid – Meena Bazaar, Jama Masjid, Chandini Chowk, Old Delhi Station

Kashmere Gate – ISBT, Hanuman Mandir, Yamuna Pushta

Cannought Place – Hanuman Mandir, Central Park, Pallika Bazaar, BaraKhamba Road, Banglasahib Gurudwara

New Delhi Station –PaharGanj, New Delhi Station

      South Delhi

Sarojini Nagar  - Market, Cement Godaam, surrounding redlights

Nizammuddin – Dargah, Flyover, Redlights, Shivji Park

Modi Mill - Okha flyover, New Friends Colony Market, Okhla Sabzi Mandi

Kalkaji - Kalkji Mandir, Kalkaji Flyover, Nehru Place Market, Nehru Place Flyover

PVR – PVR Saket, Saidlajam Slum Area, IIT Gate flyover

* Challenges

Since our inception we have been facing many challenging problems which we should struggle with. Our campaign plans have been developed to solve these problems.

• Use of Night Shelters and Blankets(http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/delhi-s-homeless-prefer-streets-to-night-shelters-78839)
• Drugs Addicted Parents Rehabilitation
• Educating the homeless people to Work instead of Begging
• Vocational Trainings for the parents who are staying on the streets and Organizing jobs for them