In Lviv, the “Care Bus” has resumed its route, helping people without a home reach the shelter of the Dzherelo Social Services Centre at 3A Kyrylivska Street. On the first day of operation after the relaunch, seven homeless people used the service.
The special bus takes people to the shelter free of charge, where they can warm up, have a meal, wash, receive clean clothes, and also access social and medical services. The route operates during the autumn and winter period, when the need for such support increases particularly sharply.
The “Care Bus” departs every Friday from the Gunpowder Tower at 10:00. Staff of the Dzherelo Centre speak in advance with people who are on the street, tell them about the opportunity to travel and invite them to make use of the support.
We have relaunched this bus so that, during the cold season, homeless people can use the support offered by our shelters: to wash and receive clean clothes, get a haircut, have a meal, and receive advice from a social or medical worker. The bus will run every Friday from the Gunpowder Tower at 10 o’clock throughout autumn and winter. Every week our staff speak directly with people on the street about this opportunity and invite everyone to make use of it
As noted by the deputy director of the Dzherelo Social Services Centre, Andrii Oliiarnyk, the initiative is intended not only to take a person to the shelter, but also to familiarise them with the full range of social services provided by the community.
The “Care Bus” has been running for four years now as part of the city programme “With Care for Everyone”. At different times it has taken homeless people and those in hardship both to the Dzherelo Centre shelter and to the Emmaus-Oselya mutual aid community. During the initiative, more than 200 people received support through this project in one of the seasons and more than 220 in another; 13 trips were made, around 130 social patrols carried out and more than 4,300 social services provided.
The branch of social work with homeless people of the Dzherelo Centre at 3A Kyrylivska Street is the only shelter for homeless people in Lviv. It offers overnight and daytime stays, meals, showers, laundry, distribution of clothes and footwear, as well as social support and resocialisation programmes.
The branch currently has 861 people on its books. In September alone, around 80 homeless people used the overnight shelter services, and since the beginning of the year almost 700 people have received assistance in various forms. As of September 2026, the centre’s social patrol had made 553 trips to places where homeless people stay.
Dzherelo social workers regularly travel to different districts of Lviv, where they offer people on the street hot food, clothing, hygiene products and the opportunity to use the shelter’s services.
If you notice someone who may be in need of help, the city services ask you not to remain indifferent and to contact the Dzherelo contact centre, the city “hotline” on 15-80, the city’s social service on 16-20, and in case of a threat to life or health, the ambulance service on 103 or the police on 102.