As it turns out, these are not only secluded places such as abandoned allotment huts, refuse-bin shelters or stairwells. From mid-October 2014 until the end of February, officers of the Bolesławiec Municipal Police carried out 1 353 inspections of places where homeless people stayed. They also provided emergency assistance to people who expressed a wish to receive it.

Thanks to such inspections and reports from residents, assistance was provided, among others, to homeless people sleeping on benches on Głowackiego Street, in the municipal gardens. Two men and a woman were among those sleeping there. None of them was under the influence of alcohol; nevertheless, they refused any medical assistance. After the officers persuaded them, one of the men agreed to be taken to a Polish Red Cross facility housing a shelter for homeless people. Because of concerning symptoms, such as visible hypothermia and tremors, as well as the fact that the man was unable to stand, he was taken to the emergency department, where he was examined. After the examinations, the man refused treatment, so he was taken to the Polish Red Cross facility. There, because it was unable to provide him with medical care, he could not remain. However, after another conversation with the officers and an employee of the Municipal Social Welfare Centre, the homeless man agreed to hospital treatment. He was transported there again by Municipal Police officers and remained there.

At the same time, action was taken regarding the other two people. It was established that the woman who had been sleeping on a bench on Głowackiego Street was registered as a resident in one of the towns near Bolesławiec. She wanted to return to her place of residence, but was unable to get there on her own, primarily because of difficulty moving around. The woman and the man accompanying her were taken to the place where she was registered.

This is one of the cases that municipal police officers encounter every day. In addition, the Bolesławiec Municipal Police organised a bedding collection among its officers, which was gradually handed out during inspections to people staying, among other places, in allotment huts.

Let us remember homeless people, but let us also not forget elderly neighbours who are ill and whom nobody visits.

On 4 December 2014, the duty officer of the Bolesławiec Municipal Police received a report that residents of one of Bolesławiec’s streets were concerned because their neighbour, a man over 80 years old, had not left his home or opened the door to neighbours for a week. A patrol and an employee of the Municipal Social Welfare Centre were sent to the scene. After lengthy attempts to establish contact with the resident, they managed to enter the flat. Upon entering, they could smell a strong odour of exhaust fumes. It turned out that the man was heating the flat with a “stove” he had made himself.

Because of the risk of an explosion, the gas emergency service was also called. Its employees cut off the gas supply. The electricity supply to the flat was disconnected. Moreover, as the man had spent a long time in the flat, there was a risk of exhaust-fume poisoning, so an emergency medical team was called immediately and took the elderly man to hospital.

Subsequently, employees of the Municipal Social Welfare Centre in Bolesławiec took steps to place the elderly man in the Zakład Opieki Lekarskiej in Kowary, as he was unable to function independently.

In addition, officers of the Bolesławiec Municipal Police joined a Polish Red Cross campaign and helped distribute a hot meal to homeless people on 24 December 2014.

Regular inspections of places where homeless people stayed have ended, but emergency measures concerning homeless people will continue, depending on weather conditions.

Bolesławiec Municipal Police/ii