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| Introduction of "New Way" Social Association (Új Út Szociális Egyesület) |
Our association was registered in March 2001 as a public utility organisation by the Court of Budapest.
For those who are disadvantaged because of their addiction we have been holding regular individual and group addictology consultations.
The combination of social work and addictology consultations have proved efficient. In the framework of another programme we also look for rentable flats for our clients as a second step since we have experienced that after an appropriate social and mental rehabilitation they become able to re-establish an independent life style.
Keeping the families together has played a very important part in our work. For this reason we organised family consultations during which a teacher was holding a dance session and playroom for the children.
In 2005 the Ferencváros Local Council gave us a room for rent to be refurbished and converted into a daytime shelter for homeless people. The renovation finished in the middle of April 2005 and the association moved in. The shelter was opened on 2nd September 2005 in Ferencváros. In the shelter, beyond fulfilling basic needs such as washing, clothes and food distribution we run different programmes. In every day, on average 80-110 people come to our daytime shelter.
From the 1st of January 2006 we have been doing our street social work based on a functioning permitt. In the past period we have been in touch with 146 homeless people and took 102 of them under social care. We cover the area of Ferencváros Center including its streets, parks, undergrounds, the coast of the river Duna and the whole part of the forest at Határ street.
We consider the followings as our duty: contacting all those who live on the streets, in the undergounds or at any places where it is not appropiate to live social life; keeping in touch with these people; taking them under social or health care if it is needed; providing them with basic necessities. In the case of need we provide them with duvets, clothes, basic foods, in the winter time with hot tea and in summer or in extremly hot weather with cold mineral water. These services can always be taken without any special conditions.
We do our street work on a daily bases, always in the same time and place between 2pm and 8pm, in the critical winter times we are present on the streets until 10pm.
Our work is supported both by the Hungarian Goverment and of the Local Authority however these grants are not even enough for our daily maintenance, therefore we keep applying for grants to different bodies and we are also grateful for any donations.