“It may soon turn out that we will have a serious problem with homeless people. Just as two years ago, when all of Poland was talking about Bolesławiec in the context of homeless people being deprived of water before the holidays,” says Cezariusz Rudyk, a PO councillor. During the latest City Council session, Rudyk raised the issue in an interpellation. “I asked what the city would do about it,” the councillor adds.
This is all because the Marshal's Office terminated its agreement with the Bolesławiec branch of the Polish Red Cross. The shelter, located on the grounds of the Regional Hospital for the Nervously and Mentally Ill, will operate there only until the end of May. It is being said behind the scenes that the regional authorities are considering closing one of the psychiatric hospitals. Some of the beds could be moved to the hospital on Tysiąclecia Avenue. What will happen to the Bolesławiec shelter is unknown. If the worst-case scenario comes true, homeless people would have to be transported to shelters in other counties.
More than just a shelter
It is worth adding that the Bolesławiec facility contains more than just a shelter. During the winter season, an overnight shelter also operates here. Throughout the year, victims of domestic violence, among others, can find refuge in two crisis-intervention rooms. There are currently 37 people in need of help staying in the building. A large proportion of them are residents of Bolesławiec. What is more, as Cezariusz Rudyk points out, caring for homeless people is one of the municipal authorities’ responsibilities.
The problem is serious also because neither the city nor the county has a building in which a shelter could be opened. The PO councillor points to two ways out of the impasse. First, supporting the Polish Red Cross in negotiations with the Marshal's Office so that the regional authorities extend the notice period or withdraw the termination. Second, the municipal authorities could buy the building.
Councillors want to keep the shelter in Bolesławiec
PO councillors are not the only ones who see the problem. Krzysztof Pieszko of Ziemia Bolesławiecka joined the discussion about the shelter during the latest councillors’ session. “This is an extremely important matter from a social perspective,” Pieszko noted. The councillor decided that the City Council should take a clear position on the issue, if only for the sake of a clear conscience. He was also supported by City Council chairwoman Janina Piestrak-Babijczuk.
Mayor Piotr Roman, for his part, stressed that the municipal authorities must do everything possible to keep the shelter in Bolesławiec. “Let us rise above political divisions,” the mayor appealed. He also promised to speak with the regional authorities about whether the building could be taken over by the Urban Municipality. Janina Piestrak-Babijczuk, meanwhile, appealed to councillors from all clubs to help prepare an appeal to the Marshal's Office as quickly as possible.
What next?
“We have been running the shelter since May 2003. We acquired all the equipment ourselves,” says Danuta Zielińska of the Polish Red Cross. If nothing changes, the Polish Red Cross in Bolesławiec will have until the end of May to find a new location for the shelter. Polish Red Cross employees are expected to meet with Piotr Roman and commune head Kazimierz Gawron. “I think the authorities will help. I cannot imagine otherwise,” Danuta Zielińska says.
(MZ/GA report)