Greece’s Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Monday night announced a raft of new social measures to support homeless people, after meeting the ministers of health and labor.
“We must help those most affected by the crisis, in order to give them a second chance” stated Mr. Samaras. He continued by saying that “we care about those who are in need. Our goal is to exit the crisis without leaving anyone behind.”
The social welfare programme announced includes three stages.
At first, a social housing institution will be will be introduced to use every spare state building and property to host homeless people, “who are now experiencing the ultimate injustice,” according to Mr. Samaras. The government will also provide them with medical care in order to help their return to the society, he said. The competent authorities have already found 35 buildings suitable for this cause.
The second part of this measure involves the collaboration of the state with private initiatives so that donations can be raised for this new project.
The third stage concerns the creation of a support center for the homeless presently hosted in Drakopouleio Blood Donation Center in Vathis Square, which will be also renovated for this reason. The center itself is expected to be ready in a month and a half, and will be able to house 80 people for 20 days, until they can be transferred to other areas.
There will also be such centers created in Thessaloniki, Patras, Ioannina, and Larissa.
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