The Mayor of Bolesławiec Piotr Roman and Zbigniew Herbut – president of the Bolesławiec regional branch of the Polish Red Cross (PCK), and Anita Sałaciak – vice-president, have concluded an agreement entrusting the implementation of a public task entitled “Providing shelter to homeless people in support centres in the form of a shelter for homeless people, as well as providing these people with meals and necessary clothing”.
The agreement is valid until the end of 2024 and covers the provision of 32 temporary accommodation places for men at the Shelter for Homeless People whose last permanent registered address was in the city of Bolesławiec or Bolesławiec County.
The agreement was preceded by an inter-municipal agreement concerning the entrusting to the Bolesławiec urban municipality of a public task in the field of social assistance, consisting in providing shelter to homeless men from the Bolesławiec Municipality, Gromadka Municipality, Warta Bolesławiecka Municipality, Osiecznica Municipality, and the Municipality and City of Nowogrodziec, provided by the Shelter for Homeless Men.
The agreement includes, among other things, an annual flat rate of PLN 16,425 for one place in the shelter, as well as the number of places and the annual subsidy amount for individual municipalities:
- Bolesławiec urban municipality (19 places – PLN 312,072),
- Bolesławiec Municipality (3 places – PLN 49,275),
- Gromadka Municipality (3 places – PLN 49,275),
- Warta Bolesławiecka Municipality (3 places – PLN 49,275),
- Osiecznica Municipality (1 place – PLN 16,425),
- Municipality and City of Nowogrodziec (3 places – PLN 49,275).
Stay at the facility is possible on the basis of an administrative decision issued by the relevant social assistance centre from the Bolesławiec County area.
The Shelter for Homeless Men in Bolesławiec is located at 32A Tysiąclecia Avenue. The facility’s purpose is to provide protective support – meeting the basic living and social needs that guarantee homeless people’s subsistence, and undertaking activation measures aimed at helping those with prospects of overcoming homelessness leave that situation and return to life in the community.
The facility operates year-round and around the clock. Its tasks include, in particular, providing temporary overnight accommodation to homeless people (a bed, bedding, a clothes locker, and dishes), meals (three meals a day, including one hot meal), and the possibility of carrying out sanitary procedures and maintaining personal hygiene (access to two bathrooms with showers, washbasins, and toilets). The facility provides personal hygiene products. The shelter also offers access to washing machines, refrigerators, and a television.
Residents work closely with the shelter’s staff to resolve their problems and handle everyday matters by: encouraging treatment at an addiction counselling centre and participation in therapy; providing free legal and psychological assistance; obtaining an identity card; registering with the labour office to look for work; motivating unemployed people to seek employment; helping prepare CVs; holding direct discussions with employers; supporting the search for permanent accommodation; helping obtain a disability certificate, disability pension, or retirement pension; arranging necessary medical treatment; helping resolve neglected family matters; and helping people who are becoming independent organise their lives.
In addition, residents are involved in various activities for the Bolesławiec community, homeless people participate in PCK charitable campaigns, and they carry out minor repairs to shelter rooms, maintain the surroundings, work in the kitchen, and perform ongoing cleaning work in the rooms and facilities.