Radović: It is necessary to increase the number of service providers for the homeless

In Montenegro, there is no institutional response to the problem of homelessness, the non-governmental organization (NGO) Juventas assessed and said that the number of service providers intended for the homeless should be increased.

Marija Radović from Juventas told the MINA agency that there are currently two licensed service providers for homeless people in Montenegro.

As she clarified, it is about the Risan Home for the Elderly, which can provide accommodation, and Juventas, which provides a support service for life in the community - a shelter.

"The inn is a service that does not include accommodation, i.e. an overnight stay, but the user is provided with a free lunch, showering, washing and drying of clothes, donating clothes and shoes," specified Radović.

She added that Juventas also provides free consultations with a social worker, a psychologist, a health worker, a legal adviser and associates in social inclusion.

"Besides the above, there are no other available services intended exclusively for homeless people, which can respond to their needs," said Radović.

She said that she was especially concerned about the lack of temporary accommodation in different cities of the country in order to ensure geographical coverage.

As she stated, a person who is homeless needs, in addition to accommodation, to provide support that will be adapted to their needs and planned together with them, and provided on the basis of respect, cooperation and understanding of the complexity of the situation in which they most often find themselves.

"In addition to accommodation, meals, clothing, it is important to have quality psychosocial support and help in connecting with various institutions of the system in order to exercise rights, all depending on individual needs," said Radović.

She said that in Montenegro no records are kept on the number of people who are homeless, so it is difficult to roughly say what that number is.

As she stated, keeping records would help create a more realistic picture of the problem of homelessness and would contribute to better planning of services that would improve the quality of life for people who are homeless.

Radović said that, no matter how much society is aware or unaware of homelessness as a problem that is evidently present in every city of Montenegro, it is important to note that this topic is discussed and reported more often.

"Surely we all meet people who are homeless in our cities, so the more important question is whether we as a society are aware of the lack of support services and customized services that are missing," said Radović.

She stated that Article XNUMX of the current Law on Social and Child Protection recognizes adults and the elderly who are homeless as persons who are specially protected in achieving the goals of social and child protection.

As she added, the same law defines a homeless person as a person who does not have a residential address, resides in public or other places that are not intended for housing and does not have the means to meet the need for housing.

"The law recognizes people who are homeless as a category of persons who exercise the right to certain material benefits and services from that area, but in practice there is a lack of record keeping and the existence of services that would respond to their needs and provide adequate care, especially in cases of the need for urgent treatment Radovic said.

Speaking about models of social inclusion, she said that there are no clearly prescribed steps and procedures in Montenegro.

As she explained, depending on each specific case, an individual service plan should be created and additional support should be provided, when possible, based on the identified needs.

"The number of services intended specifically for homeless people is minimal, but we should use all that is available to us within the legal framework and provide available material benefits or some service that is available on another basis, because homeless people are often part of other communities that the law recognizes and it is important to use every opportunity that is available," Radović believes.

In addition, as she said, it is important through cooperation with other entities such as civil society organizations, when it is possible to provide additional support and services.

Radović believes that, above all, it is important that in Montenegro there is legal recognition of the homeless as a person at risk of social exclusion.

"Therefore, we should go in the direction of increasing the number of service providers dedicated to rooms for the homeless, a more comprehensive approach in handling, strengthening cooperation with all significant entities that can provide support, using the available shelter service provided by a licensed NGO," said Radović.

She stated that it is necessary to recognize the importance and urgency of creating a support service that will respond to the growing problem of homelessness in Montenegro at the national, as well as at the local level.