In 2017, we have been renovating the Shelter for Homeless Men in Wrocław run by the St. Brother Albert Aid Society (TPBA). The aim of the project is to improve the living conditions of about 120 men staying at the shelter.
How do we help? (about the renovation project)
We have been coordinating and executing the renovation project with the help of volunteers. In order to do the renovation, we have appealed for and received monetary donations from our sponsors, which has allowed us to cover the cost of construction materials.
Works with the support of volunteers
On 24th March 2017, we organised a corporate volunteering event, in which 16 employees of the Wrocław branch of Credit Suisse took part. The volunteers painted 3 rooms.
Among the works planned for further actions are the following: painting of walls and ceilings, carpentry and moulding repairs, and painting of radiators.
Fundraising
The project has been supported by Credit Suisse. Thanks to its donation, we have bought paints and other essential painting materials.
Who do we help? (about the St. Brother Albert Aid Society)
In the summer of 2011, we began a cooperation with the St. Brother Albert Aid Society(TPBA), which at the moment is running over 60 shelters for the homeless in numerous cities in Poland. The mission of the Society is to help people at risk of being marginalised so that they can return to society, find a job and thrive on. It runs shelters inspired by the “Night Shelter” established in Kraków before WW2 on initiative of St. Brother Albert – an aristocrat, priest and artist.
The Shelter for Homeless Men in Wrocław is run by the St. Brother Albert Aid Society.Persons with a disability certificate make up around 30% of its residents. The half of the rest of its residents are employed as, for example, seasonal workers and security guards. A support programme for the residents consists of a broadly understood resocialisation education. The Wrocław Society is particularly proud of the Cinema Albert Productions film group, in which residents create movies played later at film festivals.
The effects of the Cinema Albert Productions’ work can be seen on their YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/CinemaAlbert/. More information about the St. Brother Albert Aid Society can be found on the Society’s website: http://www.bratalbert.wroclaw.pl.
Previous projects with the St. Brother Albert Aid Society
The nature of our cooperation with TPBA is based on the realisation of construction and renovation works together with volunteers as well as on donations in the form of in-kind donations and (in some cases) interest-free loans.
In Gliwice, we worked side by side to realise our first common project – a centre consisting of a main building and 5 housing pavilions providing shelter for 93 homeless men. We helped to obtain a donation from the Gliwice-based FLUOR engineering design office. The whole donation was used to renovate the façade of the main building.
Other projects realised in a partnership with TPBA include:
- Renovation of a night shelter in Gliwice,
- Adaptation of a former school into a house for 75 ill, elderly and homeless men in Świętochłowice,
- Adaptation of a former sanitary-epidemiological station into a shelter for 25 single homeless mothers with children in Siemianowice Śląskie.
Details of the project:
Dates:
since March 2017
Location:
Wrocław
Contact person:
Karolina Pawełek
kpawelek@habitat.pl
