Unbelievable. But not surprise. The Shelter for Homeless run by the Athens Municipality threw homeless out in the coldest and snowy night in the Greek capital.
On Tuesday night, the shelter closed its doors at 11 p.m. amid heavy snow fall and temperature below the freezing point.
The denouncement was made by a citizen who wanted to help a homeless man spend the night in a warm and protected atmosphere.
According to the denouncement, the municipality employee due to take over the night shift had fallen ill and informed the shelter that he would not go to work. The employee doing the 3-11 pm shift decided to close the shelter and go home too.
The citizen, Themis Vas, recorded his experience with the homeless and the Municipality Shelter on a video.
City Council member Stathis Drogosis re-posted the incident on his Facebook page and the hell broke out.
Themis Vas wrote among others that the managed with great effort to convince the homeless sleeping on the street next to his home to go from Thiseio near Acropolis to the shelter on Panormou street in Ambelokipoi, some 5 km away.
After several phone calls to the line for homeless he was advised to seek the shelter in Panormou street.
“The homeless told me that they throw him away” from the said shelter.
“We arrived there at 22:30,” the citizen writes. Just to find out that the shelter would “close half an hour later.”
– I asked him “Why?”
– “The next shift called, said was ill and would not come.”
– “And what? You will let the people outside in the snow?”
– He says “Yes, I have to leave.”
– “Well you can not get someone else in place?”
– He says “How can I know? I’ve been here since 15:00 hours, I’m tired I have to leave. ”
After the incident triggered an outcry in social media, Athens Municipality issued a statement saying that it has been investigating the issue and “seeks disciplinary responsibility for the municipality official who arbitrarily closed the Friendship Club in Panormou that serves also as a heated area for the homeless.”
PS it is the typical Greek thing: the right hand does not know what the left hand does.
The typical Greek thing is that the right hand does not care what the left hand is doing, until someone else’s foot gives the Greek a good kick up the backside.
that works too
Unforgivable. The guy should be made to spend a few nights on the streets in this weather.