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British ambassador in Bucharest, Paul Brummell, swapped the bed for the sleeping bag, spending Friday night outdoors as a volunteer to a fundraiser for homeless people organized by the Casa Ioana Association. Brummel and about 20 volunteers slept out rough on cardboards to mark World Homeless Day.
Fifteen minutes before 22:00, the diplomat, equipped with sleeping bag and roll-mat, entered the venue of the event - a cafe in downtown Bucharest - went past the tables on the terrace where the customers were enjoying the mild autumn evening, and joined the other volunteers.
This is the second year when the ambassador participates in the event organized by Casa Ioana, which has been holding for two decades now fundraisers for people without a roof overhead.
Sharing a memory, the ambassador said this was the sleeping bag he used for travels as a geography student, 30 years ago.
I am happy that the weather is very good today. Last year it rained all night; I think this will be a much easier night, the diplomat said.
Speaking about the purpose of the event he volunteered to, Brummel admitted that in a way such an event is contrived, but underscored that in his opinion, it is important to remember that there are 5,000 people without a roof here in Bucharest, spending every night outdoors, including in the middle of winter, and that they don't have it easy. He added that homelessness is a "global" issue.
This is an issue both in the UK and in Romania. The solutions are not easy, there is a link between homeless people and social problems, the British ambassador pointed out.
In his turn, Casa Ioana founder Ian Tilling told AGERPRES about the challenges regarding the homeless people's need for social services, but also about how the profile of the Romanian homeless has changed.
Tilling recalled having opened the first night shelter in Bucharest back in the '90s.
Back then the homeless were generally men in their '50s, elderly men, but then women appeared in the group too and then there was a massive addition of homeless elderly, they were tricked into selling their homes, Tilling explained.
In the early 2000s there was an "explosion" of families, most of them single-parent, who were left homeless.
The trouble was that the authorities provided shelter, but on the condition that they left their children in the care of social services, and of course they refused. We have since been focusing on families - back then there were homeless families, now we have families affected by domestic violence, he said.
Tilling argues that it is important for the public to know that for a homeless person this is generally just a transitory situation.
Being homeless is a situation, not a condition. It simply means that a person does not have a house to live in, full point, Tilling said.
He pointed out that in addressing the issues of this social category, the authorities should focus on encouraging these vulnerable people to regain their autonomy.
People don't become homeless overnight, this happens in months, in years, they simply lose their resources. The house is their last resource. They stay at friends for a while, but this option too disappears at some point. The issue here is the lack of services and it's true not just here, but in the entire region. Few are 'chronically' homeless, this is usually a transient situation, and we are trying to help the mothers who turn to us at Casa Ioana get back on their feet and be autonomous. This is what our efforts are directed at, he pointed out, voicing also regret that such services are missing.
Videoclips were running in the background, behind the group of volunteers lying on the cardboard-lined floor, with social experiments debunking stereotypes about street people.
If you ask a homeless person for money, he will offer you, if you ask for food, he will give you. There is also a clip with a homeless man who simply pays those who spend time talking to him, Tilling explained.
He also spoke about how homeless people see the world.
There is a general pattern about the invisibility of the homeless, but I read an article written by a homeless person who said 'Imagine spending your entire life in the public eye'. Things are like this from their point of view, he remarked.
The founder of Casa Ioana also spoke about the people's reluctance to offer material resources to homeless people.
No one should step back from giving money to homeless people. If they use it to buy cigarettes, that's it, it's their money, that's what matters to them. (...) Media once ran the information that a woman had sold the clothes Casa Ioana had donated to her. So what? It was our pleasure to offer her the clothing, it was the pleasure of the donor, and whoever bought it needed it and this is all that mattered, Tilling said.
British Council Romania country director Nigel Bellingham and president of the British - Romanian Chamber of Commerce, Charles Crocker, were among the volunteers to Friday's sleepout.
World Homeless Day is marked globally on October 10.
According to statistical estimations, there are some 5,000 homeless people in Bucharest but numbers could actually be higher. Others are compelled to live in overcrowded space or temporarily live at friends.
Casa Ioana was set up in 1995 in support to families - women and children in general - who fall victims to domestic violence or have no place to live. Casa Ioana provides them free accommodation until they are back on their feet. The association also offers these vulnerable persons a broad range of psychological and social assistance services, helping them to transition to an independent and stable living.
