„illustrative photo – Jindřich Štreit“

At the end of 2019, a 36-year-old man, Mr A, came to our Night Shelter in Krnov. He stayed on the street for a few days and did not know where to go. But he learned about the Salvation Army and that there he could sleep in a warm place, get clothes and something to eat. His life was not easy, and he often had his ups and downs. At the age of fourteen, he found himself on the street for the first time and had to learn to survive on his own. He managed to stand on his two feet when he reached adulthood when he found a job and an apartment, where he lived with his girlfriend and their two children. After some years of living together and after ongoing disagreements between the partners, he left the family and began to travel. However, this did not last long, due to a shortage of finances. He ended up in a Hostel where he lived with his brother. They both worked at a sawmill. But then happened something that he would not imagine in his wildest dreams, his brother deprived him of all their money and left to Germany. Then Mr A. was fired from the hostel because he had no money to pay. He did not perform the work at the sawmill properly, because he slept outside where possible and eventually, he was fired. He found himself and in a difficult social situation without any means. He pulled himself together mentally in our Hostel. He got his thoughts together and was motivated to start again. As he had no funds to pay for accommodation, he was supported by Night Vouchers as part of the Night Voucher project. His big goal was to get a job, preferably connected with housing. First, he managed to successfully apply for Benefits in Material Need so that he would have at least some money. He also visited his children, with whom he wanted to be in contact. After some time, he managed to find a job as a hospital orderly, and he also succeeded to apply for accommodation in a men’s Hostel. With the support of social workers, he later also managed to arrange his own independent housing.