Penang homeless refuge taking shape
‘We will have a place for anyone to take shelter when they have nowhere to go’
GEORGE TOWN: When the medical team rushed to his help, the elderly man still had the ability to say his name was “Liew Fok Tho”.
But early next morning, on Nov 16, the homeless man died in hospital of acute coronary syndrome.
A stranger had called for an ambulance after seeing Liew collapse near a Chinese temple in George Town.
Liew had no identification papers, so the Penang Hospital had to register him as an “unknown male”.
As of yesterday, his body has been lying in the mortuary for a whole month, and the hospital is appealing for anyone who might know Liew’s next of kin to alert them.
It is learned that when the homeless die and no one claims the bodies after a certain time, Good Samaritans will be allowed to step forward and help conduct the last rites for them.
This happens now and then, and State Welfare and Caring Society Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh is hoping to put an end to homelessness in Penang soon.
“We will have a place for anyone to find refuge when they have nowhere to go,” he said.
At the recent state assembly meeting, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow announced that the state would spend RM560,000 to turn a pre-war house at 19, Jalan C.Y. Choy into the Penang island Homeless Transit Centre.
This house is a mere 500m from Komtar, the vicinity of which are the streets where the homeless frequent most.
“In this way, they will not feel that we are taking them away from familiar ground. They can find refuge in a familiar place,” he said.
Phee, in sharing artist impressions of the plan, revealed that it would be designed to be self-sustainable.
“The transit centre will be operated jointly by the state, private sector and a social welfare NGO,” he added.
There will be beds for 80 homeless people. Phee said a recent tally found that about 70 people lived in the city’s streets and “if we need more beds, we can use bunk beds”.
At the moment, the plan is to give the dorms a roomy feel with the use of single beds, and there will be separate dorms for men, women and the disabled.
The ground floor has a collection centre for Mutiara Food Bank, initiated by the state last year and has helped feed over 20,000 poor Penangites.
Behind the collection centre is a proposed gallery and Bohemian-style cafe, specially dedicated for use by students who want a calm and cosy place to study or have quiet discussions.
Tucked in the back and accessible from Jalan Magazine at the side will be the registration counter of the transit centre, a medical treatment room, dormitory for the disabled homeless (12 beds), kitchen and dining area.
Upstairs are plans for the male (50 beds) and female (15 beds) dorms, a workshop for residents to learn living skills, an administrative office and even an open-air laundry yard.
Phee said the process to obtain planning permission from the Penang Island City Council for the transit centre was underway.
After this project, he said, the state would look into building a similar one on the mainland, too.