Soon, swadhar grah to provide shelter to homeless women
LUCKNOW: Soon, the women in distress, who have no place to reside, will get a shelter as the state’s child and women welfare department is going to establish ‘swadhar grah’- temporary shelter homes- for them in the city.
Apart from the state capital, the UP government will establish the shelter homes in other divisions too. Officials of the child and women welfare department said the establishment of the temporary shelter homes would be of great help to homeless women and victims of domestic violence or other types of abuse.
The officials added that at present, there were only a handful of shelter homes that weare either being run by NGOs or by other private bodies. But these ones would be, perhaps, the first to be run by the state government, they said.
“There are instances when women, especially the victims of domestic violence, are forced to leave their homes. At that very moment, they don’t know where to go. Swadhar grah would be an answer to this,” a senior officer with the department said.
The official added that the blue print for setting up the shelter home was prepared and it was expected to get functional by the end of this fiscal year.
The shelter home would have a capacity to accommodate 30 distressed women and would cater to their primary needs like shelter, food, clothing and medical care. “It is for sure that the shelter would help them in regaining the emotional strength that often gets hampered due to their encounter with unfortunate circumstances,” the officer added.
Other than these, the shelter administration would also provide legal aid and guidance, enabling the victim to take fight the unfortunate situation. At the same time, it would also ensure the rehabilitation of the victims.
He said the women could stay at the home for a maximum period of 3 years. Women above 55 years of age may be accommodated for a maximum period of 5 years after which they would be shifted to the old age homes, he added. He said that the facilities could also be availed by the children of the needy women.