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 

 

Field Work 1

(For Children)

 Field work is a very important aspect of our work. We believe that unless we our feet on the street we shall not be able to reach out to the most vulnerable children. Ideologically we encourage the team to realize that their role is not to fill up the hostels with not so needy children but to get the most vulnerable to the homes.

Step 1. Aman Sathis Meet Children on the Streets

Street children encounter the Dil Se campaign for the first time in their own environment, that is, on the streets through the field workers(Aman Sathis).  

Step 2. Build Trust and Friendship with Children

Aman Sathis visit them every day and establish a relationship of love and trust with the children, motivate and support the children in fighting injustice, want and abuse.

Step 3. Persuade the Parents and Children and Send Children to Aman Ghars

Aman Sathis make themselves available round the clock observing, studying their means survival, understanding their needs, building a relationship of trust and empathy, and instilling hope by offering them a realistic alternative to their current life situation. Deepen the engagement of Aman Sathis with children at the contact points by supplementing general counseling with assistance with Education, Health Facility, Vocational Training Support, legal support etc

Some street children may choose to get off the streets, in which case, the Dil Se campaign provides them the option to move to its children’s home. Our target population is primarily homeless children and families of children in our homes who are homeless and /or into begging with special reference to single women.

Step 4. Support People and Children on the Streets

Children who choose to remain on the streets also continue to receive help and support from Aman Sathis like access to health care and de-addiction facilities, and above all maintain a deep bond of friendship.

They also engage with police, local hospitals and various agencies to sensitize them towards the needs of these children and seek their support in every capacity possible.

* Supports for Children

v  Repatriation to their biological families

Aman Sathis also help with repatriation to their biological families if required,

Aman Sathis have repatriated many children to their biological families from our homes and from the streets. When children who had been apart from their families ask finding their families Aman Sathis organize ways to there home and take them to their families. 

CWC is also supporting to repatriate children who are lost on the streets. Some parents have come to take their children back but when their homes are far, Aman Sathis are asked to do repatriation process and we repatriate them. 

* Cooperating Partners

CWC(Child Welfare Committee) is one of our biggest  partners who liaison children from grave circumstances.  We have been receiving children since 2009 and these children who have come to us from CWC are given quality of care and support extended.

Childline 1098 is also another partner which guides children in help to our homes.

Police 100(GRP, RPF of Delhi) is working with us to protect the children from mistreat and in emergency situations.

Many hospitals are helping children with medical supports, which are Kalavati Hospital, Lady Harding Hospital, Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, Lala Ramaswarup TB Hospital, IHBAS Hospital, AIIMS Hospital, Aruna Asaf Ali Hospital, St. Stephen Hospital.

HRC(Homeless Resource Center), Asha Bhawan, Balsahyog, Antodya are NGOs working for the children with us.

* 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

Our Achievement

·      Reinitiated the Social-economic mapping to identify areas with the most vulnerable children

·    Out of the 35 identified sites, our interventions have been reached to 25 most vulnerable sites where we reach out to over 15000 homeless children and adults – Trying to reach 90% of those areas

·    Reliable and dedicated network of partnerships are established with individuals and institutions responsible for almost all aspects of child care

·    Encouraging the most vulnerable child to move into residential care(Aman Ghars) and continue meaningful engagement with children who wish to continue on the street

·   Assist in repatriation of children to biological/foster parents. Regular counseling and monitoring of child and parents to ensure that the child is not forced to take to the street again

·   Regular interactions with parents of children in the homes to seek their support in helping the child grow into a happy responsible citizen.

·    Extending health, hygiene, legal and counseling services to their parents as well