On January 26, 2024 within the framework of the XXXII International Christmas Educational Readings the section "From dinners to shelters: a comprehensive approach to helping the homeless" was held, Patriarchy.ru reports. The work of the section was organized by the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service. The section was timed to coincide with the tenth anniversary of "Angara Salvation" - a project of the "Miloserdiye" help service in Moscow. Bishop Panteleimon of Verey, Chairman of the Synodal Department for Charity, Bishop Panteleimon of Verey, Head of the direction of assistance to the homeless of the Synodal Department for Charity, Director of the public church organization "Miloserdiye" and the charitable foundation "Friends of Mercy" of Tyumen Andrey Yakunin and others spoke at the section.
During the section, the chairman of the Synodal Department for Charity emphasized the importance of work with the homeless for the Russian Orthodox Church and thanked all those involved in this ministry.
"We are all on earth in some sense homeless. The Canon of St. Andrew of Crete tells of a remarkable Old Testament saint - Righteous Job - who endured unimaginable suffering. It has been said that he became homeless suddenly. You and I can all become like that. It is absolutely necessary to help people. And it is very important to do it with love. Our job is not just to provide food to those who are on the street. There is also the task of re-socialization - to help them return to normal life," Bishop Panteleimon noted.
Priest Oleg Vyshinsky, who provides spiritual care for the Angara of Salvation wards, told about how the project developed - from the bus of mercy to a comprehensive solution to the problems of the homeless. Also Father Oleg told about stereotypes that exist in the sphere of helping the homeless. "There are two types of views on the rehabilitation of the homeless. The first - nothing can be done, and homelessness is the result of a person's life choices. The second is that a person needs a little help in overcoming external circumstances and everything will work out right away. We have learned lessons from our experience of employing homeless people: if a person has no housing, they have nowhere to go to work. Then a person who sleeps on the street has lost skills of orientation in time, public space, communication skills, skills of handling money. This is always a hindrance to his device," said Priest Oleg Vyshinsky. The priest recalled the importance of the spiritual component in helping people who find themselves on the street. "Christ is in solidarity with our hardships, including homelessness - hunger, disease, rejection of others. Without Christ to carry this burden is unbearable - fraught with spiritual and physical perdition," said Father Oleg Vyshinsky.
Ilya Kuskov, initiator of the project "Hangar of Salvation" and head of the public-church shelter "Warm Reception" in Khimki, shared under what difficult conditions church assistance to the homeless in Moscow began. "The situation with the homeless in Moscow has changed. The homeless, of course, have not disappeared anywhere, but they have begun to live much better. The horror that was there before is impossible to imagine now. Now the number of social volunteer services has increased. We have done all this together so that people suffer less, get frostbitten less, die less, become disabled less," emphasized Ilya Kuskov.
The section was moderated by Andrei Yakunin, head of the direction of assistance to the homeless of the Synodal Department for Charity, head of the direction of assistance to the homeless of the Synodal Department for Charity, director of the public-church organization "Miloserdiye" and the charitable foundation "Friends of Mercy" of Tyumen. He noted that a person's place in life cannot be the street, and suggested priority steps for reforming the system of assistance to the homeless in Russia.
At the beginning of the section a video about the work of "Angara Rescue" of the "Mercy" service was shown. Also the employees of "Angar of Salvation" prepared a photo exhibition "Angar. People...", representing a retrospective photo report on the project's many years of work.
"Salvation Hangar" is a project of the "Miloserdie" service, which has been dealing with the problems of the homeless for more than ten years. The project unites the following directions: prevention of homelessness at railway stations, help in Moscow hospitals, emergency help on the street, the frame tent "Hangar of Salvation", where homeless people can warm up and eat. A paramedic station operates at the Hangar. A social worker in the tent assists homeless people in restoring documents, making connections with relatives, finding temporary shelter, and sending them home. In 2023, homeless people were able to eat and warm themselves 117,146 times in the Salvation Tent. 22,360 times homeless people received necessary seasonal shoes, clothes and underwear.
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