Night shelters provide little cover for homeless

Ethiraj , a 77-year-old homeless man, sleeps by the doorstep of the Corporation shelter in Chintadripet oblivious to the light rain that falls. The shelter, created for people like him, is locked even during the monsoon.
The city has 15 night shelters, but a Supreme court committee said in June that only six are functioning. “This shelter only opens at night.So I have to sleep outside when it rains. Earlier, they provided food but now they do not give anything,” he said.
When it is open, the shelter lacks basic facilities. It caters to about 100 homeless people , but has only three damaged mats and pillows, and the roof leaks. “There is no proper drinking water facility,” said Muthu Krishnan, who uses the shelter.
Officials said the corporation runs 15 night shelters in Kodungaiyur, New Washermenpet , Tondiarpet, Kannappar Thidal, Rajaji Salai, Chintadripet, Sembium, Choolai, Teynampet, Mandaveli, Santhome, Chinmaya Nagar and Saidapet.
Vanessa Peter, programme director of Action Aid, an organisation working against poverty, said most night shelters do not have any facilities. “We inspected the 15 night shelters. Only six are functional and the rest do not have proper amenities. There is no full-time official to monitor the homeless intervention programmes of the corporation ,” she said.
Corporation commissioner D Karthikeyan said the civic body will take steps to improve the facilities. “We are planning to provide food at a subsidised rate in the night shelters. We are also tying up with three NGOs to improve the facilities,” he said.
A Supreme Court order says all shelters should function 24 hours a day. “But most shelters in Chennai are open only at night. Of the six functioning shelters, only the facility for families in Kannapar Thidal and the one in Santhome work round the clock,” said Peter.
The civic body has decided to open eight more night shelters in the expanded areas of the corporation. The corporation recently passed a resolution in the council meet to involve NGOs in the running of some shelters . Corporation officials said that only 550 of the city’s 11,116 homeless use the shelters.
According to a study by Indian Community Welfare Organisation, a non-profit group, Tamil Nadu has the highest number of urban homeless in the country, and Chennai accounts for 75%.
A national report on homelessness prepared by a Supreme Court appointed committee revealed that at least three million homeless people across the country sleep outdoors because of the lack of proper shelter . The report said: “Many shelters are under utilised and most are locked. The homeless are not aware about the existence of the shelters. Some of the shelters are located in places that are difficult to find. The shelters are only for men and no separate space is provided for women. The basic amenities in the shelters are very poor.”