On December 1, municipal police officers patrolled the city looking for homeless people seeking shelter from the severe frost. While helping a homeless woman who had taken refuge from the cold at the PKP railway station, they noticed that she was registered at an address on Kościuszki Street. They checked the address and found Stanisław there. The 55-year-old man lived in an unheated apartment and in difficult conditions. The homeless woman turned out to be his longtime friend, who had left her home in the summer and never returned.

Stanisław told the officers that he had epilepsy and that, for this reason, no one wanted to hire him. He is a crane operator by profession. In spring and summer, he supported himself by collecting cans and taking them to a recycling center. During the winter, he could not afford to pay for the electric heating system in his apartment. The flat was therefore freezing cold during the frosts.

He told the officers who arrived about his entire life. What struck them most was that the man had fallen into poverty not because of an addiction, which is the most common cause, but because of his illness. As a person with epilepsy, he was not only unable to find work, but after numerous setbacks he no longer believed he could look for a job. He was also afraid to leave the house because once, during a seizure, he remained on the street for an hour and a half before someone called an ambulance. When asked whether he needed help, he replied that he did not even know where to seek it.

It turned out that Stanisław had no health insurance and did not receive any social assistance because he did not know where he could go. The officers took him to the Municipal Social Welfare Center, where he was informed about the benefits he could receive. A social worker will also now check the conditions in the man's home. A medical appointment was arranged for him, and he was referred to the Employment Office to register as unemployed. After completing all the formalities, the man was taken to a soup kitchen for homeless people at Plac Zamkowy. There he received a hot meal and provisions.

The situation of people living in poverty or experiencing homelessness during the winter is tragic. Often, those most in need of help do not know that they can receive it or whom to contact. Such people can be helped by reporting their whereabouts to the municipal police (74 644 79 90), the police or the Municipal Social Welfare Center (75 745 78 23 – during office hours).

(information by Grażyna Hanaf)