Shelter for Russian-speaking homeless people in Brooklyn: how it works and who it helps
'28.06.2021'
Nurgul Sultanova-Chetin
According to official figures, the number of Russian-speaking immigrants in New York is about 600. Most of them live in Brooklyn. Russian speech can be heard among the homeless, so there are shelter, which helps immigrants who have lost their homes.
Brighton Beach is not only a place where there are many Russian restaurants and shops, you can also meet Russian-speaking homeless people here, often with alcohol and drug addiction. As a rule, these people do not speak English well and do not know their rights. They are often afraid of deportation, so they do not seek help.
Helping Russian-speaking homeless people in New York is provided by the Saint John Giving Hope Foundation. It was founded in Brooklyn in 2003 in honor of St. John of Kronstadt.
The foundation helps homeless people with addiction to get rid of it, improve their lives and find work.
Three times per week volunteers of the foundation visit places where homeless people congregate to distribute food, clothes or shoes. Bread for such events is provided by the Georgian cafe Bread in the Oven. On such days, homeless people may also ask for other help: someone needs to wash clothes, buy medicine.
At such moments, the fund's volunteers can talk with the guys, offer to help with rehabilitation, send them to one of the city's clinics. After the rehabilitation program, the wards can go to the House of Industriousness, founded in 2017 at the Foundation.
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The House of Industriousness is intended for homeless Russian-speaking men and has 12 beds. After moving into the house, the children need to attend community meetings, for example, clubs of alcoholics anonymous or drug addicts.
Despite the fact that the Foundation was founded by the Orthodox Church and is intended primarily for Russian-speaking homeless people, they also speak English and Spanish and welcome representatives of different religions.
After rehabilitation, as a rule, the wards lead a sober lifestyle, find a permanent job and can rent a house on their own.
Saint John Giving Hope Foundation located at: St. John Give Hope Foundation, Inc., 34 Lester Ct., Brooklyn, NY 11229, phone: +1 718 415-5777
