A number of specific areas of Riga are actually overwhlemed with great number of the homeless people. It is despite the fact that the Riga city council has opportunities and means to help these people and contribute to their social adaption. The Latvian Russian Union deputy, a member of the Riga city council Committee on Social Matters Vladimir Buzaev speaks on the reasons which proven the capital city to fully eradicate this problem.
According to the statistical data provided by Vladimir Buzaev, the overall nuber of places that Riga-based shelters for the homeless provide is ip to 900 beds per day. This number significantly exceeds the number of people staying there. Thus, in December there were only 657 homeless people. Also in the duration of the winter season the averahe occupancy of the shelters was 634 peope which is 72 people less than in the same period the year before. At that, in the previous two years this figure had been steadily growing.
There are two mobiles teams in the city which perform such tasks as identification and regular inspection of the cites where the homeless are accumulated, identification of the needs and problems these people have as well as providing them with the information how they can get help. In the period since October last year till April this year these mobile teams delivered 396 people to either hospitals and shelters and provided 1150 people with consultations. Besides, there are soup canteens in Riga where both homeless people and people with low income can get hot food.
This is the reason why it is not correct to claim that the homeless are deprived of any help. Although the number of such people in Riga is decreasing, it is still not possible to solve this problem entirely. Vladimir Buzaev tells, ”What is important is to ensure that there are people who are ready to take care of them. And our social services do work really well. There is still some reserve of places available, there is effort to socialize these people so that they can take care of themselves”.
According to Vladimir Buzaev, there is still some people who decline to get socialized. In this case there is little to be done. Therefore, Vladimir Buzaev is of the opinion that the problem would not completely go away. He also points out that it is common not only for Riga but for all developed countries. «There are always those who get marginal. As for suggestions to catch them all and keep locked, Latvia is still far from a totalitarian state and, therefore, such methods are not permitted”. He adds, ”It wiuld be both inhumane and wrong although we all do remember from the history of the USSR that expulsion of such people from big cities during, for instance, the Olympic Games was a reality. It is not being done now. On the contrary, the city self-governing council is trying to involve different charities which help the homeless. Some work in the regard is underway and it is good that it so”, Buzaev concludes.
