With the onset of winter, a social campaign to help homeless people will be launched in Lviv.
Just like last year, every Friday throughout the winter, the Caring Bus will transport homeless people free of charge to social assistance centres in the Lviv community, where they can receive a full range of services, from meals to medical check-ups.
As part of the “Caring for Everyone” campaign, the Bus of Care will start running this Friday, 6 December. The first departure will take place from the Powder Tower in Lviv at 10:00. Homeless people will be taken to the Sanotska Centre for Support of People Who Lost Their Homes “Oselya” in Vynnyky.
In general, people wishing to receive basic social assistance will be transported by bus to the Oselya Centre and the night shelter of the Dzherelo Social Services Centre. There, they will be able to take a shower, do laundry, get a change of clothes and shoes, eat, undergo a medical examination and receive advice from a social worker.
The city healthcare department is also joining the social campaign, with medical staff from Lviv’s polyclinics examining homeless people at the social assistance centres.
As a reminder, during the social campaign in winter 2023-2024, the Bus of Care ran every Friday to take homeless people to social assistance centres. Over three months, about 200 people received basic social services.
“In recent years, Lviv has been bearing a great responsibility in helping people who find themselves on the streets, especially in winter. In addition to a number of social services provided by our city institutions, NGOs and church institutions, we have a very warm and necessary initiative – the Bus of Care. It is not only about meeting the basic needs of people on the streets, it is also about our responsibility, caring and humanity. It is important for all of us to have a culture of caring for people who we often see on the streets, lonely and unattended. We shouldn’t be afraid of them, frightened, or indifferent, but we should know where to call to get them help. This is our mission within the framework of the large campaign “Caring for Everyone”. I am grateful to all the public and religious institutions that support the city in this initiative, as well as to the colleagues of all our social institutions,” says Valentyna Bartoshyk, Director of the Humanitarian Policy Department of Lviv City Council.
For reference.
The branch of social work with homeless people of the Dzherelo Social Service Centre at 3a Kyrylivska Street is the only night shelter for homeless people in Lviv. More than 50 people spend the night here every day, and even more during the cold season. People who are homeless can have dinner, wash, do laundry, get a change of warm clothes/shoes, and Dzherelo’s social workers organise medical examinations for them, help them recover lost documents, and find work or housing.
In addition, Dzherelo’s social workers who work with the homeless carry out routine social patrols around the city twice or thrice a week or patrol potential places where homeless people may be in the city’s districts. They offer them to go to the night shelter at 3a Kyrylivska Street, have dinner and warmth, wash and get a clean change of clothes. If homeless people refuse (which happens in 80 per cent of cases), social workers offer them warm instant food, warm clothes and hygiene products.