Our editorial office was contacted by a Reader, who described a difficult situation that has reportedly been occurring for a long time in one of the buildings on Podgórna Street. According to her account, residents regularly have to deal with a man who spends nights in the stairwell and is allegedly aggressive and vulgar.
The person who contacted us wrote:
On Podgórna Street, a man repeatedly enters the stairwell. He shouts and plays music, especially at night. The police are called and escort him out, but he comes back. He urinates in the stairwell; there is feces and vomit. He lies upstairs and sleeps. It is extremely troublesome, and this person is dangerous – he threatens and insults people.
Moreover, reportedly he used to do the same thing in one of the high-rise buildings in Bolesławiec.
The Reader also sent a photograph taken after one of the recent nights. As she pointed out, it shows traces of someone relieving themselves in the stairwell.
The problem of people experiencing homelessness returns regularly, especially during the warmer months. As temperatures rise, some of these people spend more time in public spaces, housing estates or stairwells, which provide shelter from rain or the cold at night. For residents, however, this increasingly means a sense of danger, noise and conflicts.
At the same time, this is an extremely difficult problem to solve. The police can intervene in specific situations, but if a person has not committed a serious crime, their options for action are limited. Shelters and night shelters are also not always accepted by people experiencing homelessness – some of them struggle with addictions or mental health problems, or do not want to use the assistance offered.
We have written about this problem many times before. In the article “What should be done with homeless people? They even come from Zamość. Because »life is better here«”, we described why similar situations keep recurring in the city and why it is so difficult to find an effective solution.
Residents emphasize, however, that regardless of the scale of the social problem, above all they want to feel safe in their own homes. They are also counting on more effective action by the services and institutions responsible for helping people experiencing homelessness.
Nevertheless, we appeal for action.