One of the most acute social problems of modern society is the homelessness of individual citizens. Currently, about 4 million homeless people live in our country. The number is huge. At the same time, the information is only approximate, since there are no exact statistics on this category of citizens.
Vagabonds are an unrecorded segment of the population. At the same time, they are subjected to the most severe discrimination at all levels. Most of the legal acts that regulate the life of any citizen do not even contain a mention of the homeless. An exception is separate rules of law that reflect their administrative and criminal liability.
Definition. Historical background
According to the definition, bum is an abbreviation taken from the police protocols of the Soviet period. BOMZH, B / o m. f., BOMZHiR - this is how people without a fixed place of residence were recorded in official documents. Today, this word is used not only in colloquial speech, but also in journalism.
The phenomenon of "walking" people has existed in Russia for a very long time. It was a separate category of citizens. They did not belong to either the rural or the urban population, but lived by free trade. Often engaged in theft androbbery.
Even during the reign of the first Romanovs, they tried to break this freemen into separate categories, seeing in it a threat to normal life and a hotbed of social ills. So the actual “walking”, “almshouses” (people kept in church shelters) and “feeding on the Name of Christ” (beggars) were singled out.
In our country, the increase in the number of homeless people is associated with the period of the collapse of the USSR, when there was a free sale of real estate. All this was accompanied by an absolute ignorance of the laws of a market economy, unemployment, an unstable political situation and a general loss of life orientation.
Who are the homeless?
Homeless is a person without a fixed place of residence. They should not be confused with beggars - this is a completely different category of citizens: they often have their own housing, but they live on alms received in the subway or near the store from compassionate people. For a homeless person, charity is a side source of income.
Homeless earn money by collecting scrap metal from garbage cans and landfills and handing it over, sometimes stealing, asking passers-by for money, very rarely earn extra money by cleaning up garbage or unloading cars. All side jobs are one-time.
But not everyone who rummages through the trash can is homeless. Some of these collectors have their own housing, usually littered with "good things" pulled out of the waste container. A homeless person is a person who carries his prey not to an apartment, but to the place where he found an overnight stay - a basement, an attic, a pit under a heating plant, etc.
You also don't need to compare a bum and a tramp. The latter often simply moves from place to place, while finding a job everywhere that provides him with a minimum level of comfort - a roof over his head and food.
A real bum is a person without housing, without documents, without social ties. The bottom of society. People without a past they don't like and don't want to remember.
Philosophy of homelessness
Russia is largely adopting the experience of other developed countries, and we have opened shelters for the homeless in some places. There are very few of them and they cannot help all the homeless.
But that's not the only problem. The homeless is not only a way of life, but also a special worldview. A person is offended by the whole world, and often reacts with aggression to any attempt at contact. Remember how the homeless beg for alms. Not beggars who try to arouse pity, namely homeless people. They do not ask, but practically demand money. And in case of refusal, they are not shy to pour selective abuse on anyone. Many do not understand that at this moment they are driven by an almost childish resentment: “how so, he is in good clothes, that he is sorry for 100 rubles.”
At the same time, a homeless person does not want to work, does not want to get involved in the restoration of documents, and often refuses any help except food and accommodation.
The situation is greatly exacerbated by alcohol. Homeless people consume alcohol-containing drinks of any quality every day and because of this they lose their last chances to return to normal life.
About social assistance to the homeless
To be honest, how does it feeldo you have bums? First of all, disgust - it is unpleasant for any person to even look at a dirty and very bad-smelling person who rummages through garbage. And only the most compassionate ones develop compassion, mixed with the same disgust, and sometimes even disgust.
But any conscious citizen understands that this phenomenon needs to be fought. These people, whether or not they are guilty of their troubles, should have at least some housing and guaranteed daily food.
And here an interesting phenomenon is observed: in our country there are many shelters for animals, but very few for people. The state allocates money for cats and dogs, celebrities donate. Every city has a whole system of foster care for abandoned animals, and social networks collect funds for medical treatment, etc.
The state takes care of a homeless person, but there are very few such help centers. For example, in Moscow there are only 3 of them, and there are about 11 thousand homeless people in the capital. Both private charitable organizations and the church (hot food points) provide assistance. But that's not enough.
Homeless shelter
Everyone agrees that the homeless need help. Not all of them are to blame for being on the street. Someone was helped by unscrupulous re altors, someone was sent to the street by relatives, and some fled because of domestic violence. Vagabonds are not only men 40-60 years old, although they are the majority. There are homeless women, elderly people, teenagers and even very young children. And some lack the smallestsupport to start the path to a normal life.
What is a homeless shelter? This is a place where a person will be fed, allowed to wash and provided with a warm bed for the night. Shelters, first of all, are aimed at maintaining physiological needs, that is, so that the homeless do not die of cold, hunger and illness. In the same place, he will be offered to contact his relatives or assist in the restoration of documents. Many shelters work like a rooming house - the homeless are allowed to sleep, after which they go back to the street.
Centers for the adaptation of persons without a fixed place of residence are aimed at returning the homeless to normal life. Here, a person will be offered not only to satisfy urgent needs, but also to solve all the main problems: restore documents, find employment, provide medical assistance, and assist in obtaining psychological support.
How can I help?
Many people are ready to help the homeless, but don't know how to do it. Here are a few points.
- Provide communication for the homeless - give the opportunity to call relatives or friends.
- Give the opportunity to earn extra money. Not all homeless people are ready to work, but some can clear snow or unload a car.
- Will turn to a church or a monastery. They often provide shelter and food for people with a difficult fate.
- Volunteering. Everyone can work in shelters for free.
- Financial support. It is not necessary to give money in hand, you can donate some amount tocharity and the homeless will receive it in the form of hot food and a clean blanket.
- Open your own shelter.
The last point is the hardest one to complete. For him, it is necessary to have not only a free housing stock, but also to ensure the implementation of all legal norms, the requirements of the fire and sanitary inspection, etc. In addition, it is necessary to obtain the consent of the neighbors.
