A new shelter has opened, giving innovative
solutions to street people in Tel Aviv-Yafo
The municipality of Tel Aviv-Yafo opened a new shelter named after the late Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein. The shelter, designed by architect Yoav Messer, was established by the Tel Aviv-Yafo municipality and La’Sova, in cooperation with the Tel Aviv Foundation with donations made by HaKeren Le’ydidot (The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews). The event marked the completion of the construction and official opening of the roof project that will provide shelter for those in need in Tel Aviv-Yafo. The new shelter will be a spacious, safe, reliable, respectable and respectful shelter that will provide the residents with bedding, food, shower, laundry services, lockers for storing belongings and medical treatment referrals.
Ron Huldai, Mayor of Tel Aviv-Yafo: "Multiplicity, variety and difference are not foreign to the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, but in the diverse mosaic of communities that make up the city's resident population, there are those that need more careful attention, a unique set of services. Street gangs are not a unique phenomenon to us, but their scope and strength are evident in Tel Aviv –Yafo. The new shelter, established by the municipality in collaboration with the Tel Aviv Foundation and the La'Sova Association, provides shelter, a roof and a warm corner for those who lack a family or social support network – it is a home. The shelter, as well as the network of support and care provided by the unit for children, are a clear expression of the values so close to us – values of social justice, maintaining human dignity and respecting others."
The new shelter is located on Elizabeth Berger Street, where a daycare for parents without housing stood for many years. About three years ago, the municipality decided to demolish the daycare center and build an expanded and improved shelter in its place, spread over 3 floors. The main goal in planning the shelter structure was to provide a roof for unhoused people while maintaining the core values of human dignity. Therefore, at the time of planning, emphasis was placed on aspects such as maintaining the privacy of those who enter, along with fostering faith in their ability to return to a normal life.
Ha'Gagon has 19 sleeping rooms that can accommodate up to 144 tenants, including rooms suitable for people with disabilities, at present the shelter is designed to cater only for males. Every 2 rooms has a shower room and toilet. The building has a kitchen and a dining room that holds up to 60 diners, terraces for meetings and activities, as well as 2 workshop rooms where the residents can play board games or cards, read books or browse the Internet while enjoying a direct view of the sea. Furthermore, a social worker from the municipality will be staying in the shelter and offer treatment to those in need. Residents of the shelter can enter every day from 3:00 PM onwards until 9:00 AM the following day. Each incoming resident receives a bed, sheets, a towel and a locked drawer for his belongings.
In Tel Aviv-Yafo, about 1,100 people live on the streets and are aided by the municipality's social services administration. In addition, about 90 more dwell on the street, without receiving any form of aid from the municipality due to reasons beyond our control. The municipal unit was established 31 years ago and its purpose is to rescue children from living on the street and integrate them into society.
The municipal unit's activity includes proactive field patrols all over the city to locate street gangs, monitoring their condition and preventing them from entering dangerous situations; providing shelter; referral to rehab; legal aid; and comprehensive and long-term psychosocial treatment.
Street gangs are a phenomenon that exists throughout the country, but their scope and power are evident in the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo because it is a metropolitan city and attracts many different populations. Many of the city’s unhoused population sleep in the street, public gardens or abandoned buildings, and often do not have a family or social support network. They are, for the most part, physically and mentally neglected.
The new shelter is located a short distance from the municipal welfare unit, and is the latest addition to other existing shelters in the city – A shelter for former female drug addicts, a shelter for recovering addicts, and a shelter for children.
Photo credit – Guy Yechiely
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