Social Structures for Immediate Eradication of Poverty will come into action in the largest municipalities of Greece. They are intended to provide a range of homogenized services to beneficiaries, who will be offered a helping hand with their every day needs, based on transparency and social accountability, while being are treated with dignity and respect.
“Social Structures for Immediate Eradication of Poverty in Municipality of Athens”
The Non-Profit Association “Médecins du Monde- Greek Delegation”, in the scope of the Action titled “Community Structures for Eradication of Poverty in Municipality of Athens” (MIS 377099), which leaves the ground as part of the Operational Program Human Resources Development 2007 – 2013, co-funded by the European Social Fund, officially proceeds with operating the Social Structures of a Social Pharmacy and a Dormitory in the area of Athens.
The project objective is to develop and put into effect an extended network of Social Structures within which the following Structures will operate:
1. Open Day Center for the Homeless – PRAKSIS
2. Soup Kitchens – EQUAL SOCIETY
3. Social Pharmacy – Médecins du Monde
4. Intermediation Office – KLIMAKA
5. Dormitory – Médecins du Monde
The aim is to support the socially vulnerable population groups, in particular, people in the Municipality of Athens who are homeless or live below the poverty line, to help with their social integration through psychosocial support and information provided to the beneficiaries by all the aforementioned Social Structures.
In this context, the action aspires to relief and gradually alleviate the effects of poverty and social exclusion that afflict a large portion of the population affected by the socio-economic crisis.
At the same time, as a result of the more specific goal of the project, 28 new positions will open up. Young unemployed people, up to 30 years old, will be hired to cover the development and operating needs of the Social Structures for Immediate Eradication of Poverty.
Beneficiaries of this project are the homeless, the destitute (insured and uninsured) & the unemployed (insured and uninsured). All beneficiaries will be served by the respective social structures by category. Social Structures by beneficiary category are detailed in the table bellow:
| Structures | The Homeless |
The Impoverished | The Unemployed | ||
| The Insured | The Uninsured | The Insured | The Uninsured | ||
| Intermediation Office | x | x | x |
x |
x |
| Social Pharmacy | x | x | x |
||
| Soup Kitchens | x | x | x |
||
| Day Center for the Homeless | x | ||||
| Dormitory | x | |
|||
Classification of beneficiaries is essential in order to ensure that beneficiaries will be served by the appropriate social structures. To this end, those interested should present all necessary supporting documents to the Intermediation Office, so that they can obtain the beneficiary card and be referred to the respective social structures based on their specific needs.
Intermediation Office
The Intermediation Office is the core of the entire network of social structures. All interested must first refer to the Intermediation Office, in order to avail themselves of any kind of services offered by the social structures. Beneficiaries are provided with information and facilitation services regarding services offered by the Social Structures for Eradication of Poverty. Based on their personal needs they are then directed to the respective Social Structures.
The Intermediation Office will be staffed by two humanitarian sciences professionals, and will be housed downtown Athens -on 50 Dekeleon street, Kerameikos- in a place accessible to people with Special Needs and by public transportation. The Intermediation Office will be open during regular working hours, Monday – Friday, from 9:00am to 5:00pm.
Social Pharmacy – Operating Organization Médecins du Monde
Access to health care services is a fundamental right of all humans, as it is also clearly stated in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. People who live in conditions of social exclusion are in double risk of suffering serious diseases or even be subject to premature death. Meanwhile, a host of studies confirm the fact that many people who live on meager incomes refrain from using health care services, particularly when there need to pay any associated fees.
A host of researches and studies indicate that there is an interactive relationship between poverty and health. Poverty leads to diseases, and this is due to the fact that poor people are forced to live in degraded areas, suffer malnutrition and work under hazardous and unhygienic conditions. At the same time, ill-health has a negative impact on people’s education, occupation and their income.
Nowadays, increasingly more, people are faced with the deleterious effects of social exclusion. Social exclusion is a multidimensional and dynamic phenomenon emerging from limited access to social and public goods. Equal access to health services and health structures for all, is one of the top priorities for the implementation of this social policy worldwide.
The Social Pharmacy is intended to provide healthcare to people who live below poverty line, and thus ensure their access to socio-welfare services. The Social Pharmacy will operate within the existing Structure of the Médecins du Monde Pharmacy, which has been operating simultaneously with the Open Polyclinic program, since 1997. The Social Pharmacy is intended to provide, free of charge, medicines to outpatients who cannot afford to buy or their insurance does not cover the cost of the medicines they need.
The Pharmacy is located downtown Athens, on 12, Sapfous street, and it is easily accessible by public transportation.
It is estimated that the Social Pharmacy will provide free medicines, medical care products and pharmaceuticals to at least 100 persons per month. These are people, who have no access to the National Health System and they are, in the main: unemployed/uninsured, impoverished, elderly/low pensioners, homeless, immigrants, single-parent families / families with many children, and people with disabilities.
The Social Pharmacy will pursue a set of actions in order to ensure its free provision of supplies in medicinal and pharmaceutical products from the pharmaceutical companies, pharmaceutical associations and local corporate bodies. In addition, given that a host of epidemiology and social researches demonstrate that Greek families buy immense quantities of pharmaceutical drugs, it would be best practice for people to return any unused medical products so that these could be distributed to the poor. This Social Structure will be staffed by 3 persons of the following expertize: 2 pharmacists and 1 social worker. The Social Pharmacy will operate daily from 9:00am to 5:00pm.
Dormitory – Operating Organization Médecins du Monde
The situation downtown Athens puts forth, most undoubtedly, several social issues that ensue from the marginalization and the exclusion of socially vulnerable population groups. To be more specific, in regards with the phenomenon of homelessness and the spatial concentration of homeless people, it is estimated that in Athens alone, there are 52 locations where people who lack basic accommodation find shelter. Even though, the need for decentralization of the supporting services for the socially vulnerable population groups is of a paramount importance, it is equally of imperative need and utmost importance for a Dormitory in the center of Athens, since this is where the vast majority of the homeless people lives or dwells.
The structure will operate on 49, Alikarnassos street, in the center of Athens, which is a location easily accessible by public means of transport.
The Dormitory will operate every day, from 9:00pm to noon and will accommodate at least 50 homeless persons per night. This Social Structure will be manned by a staff of seven employees of the following specialties: 2 administrative employees, 4 cleaning staff and 1 social worker.
In order for this attempt to be successful, it is essential that the entire society supports the missions. It is also important to raise public awareness so that all citizens can actively support this national effort. Poverty concerns us all and if all individual actions, regardless how small would be joined together, then eradication of poverty could be feasible. The entire enterprise tempts the social solidarity in Greece.
