A beacon for Medellin’s homeless addicts from the abyss of crack
A beacon for Medellin’s homeless addicts from the abyss of crack
Oct 9, 2014 posted by Nicolas Bedoya
Medellin’s homeless population tends to be very hidden unless you are downtown, walking along the Medellin river, or in one of the city’s two homeless attention centers.
Maria Pilar Messino is the coordinator and a social worker at Centro Dia 1. Centro Dia 1 is one of two basic homeless attention centers in Medellin where the city’s homeless population can go shower, eat, sleep, receive medical and psychiatric attention, and attend workshops.
Medellin and Bogota are the only cities in Colombia that provide public centers and programs for their homeless populations. Centro Dia 1 and Centro Dia 2 are run by the Secretary of Social Inclusion under Medellin’s mayor’s office.
The two homeless centers in Medellin have the capacity to attend and house around 800 homeless people daily. According to the last census, there are roughly 3,500 homeless people in Medellin, however this number is believed to be a gross underestimation.
More:
http://colombiareports.co/beacon-medellins-homeless-addicts-abyss-crack/