“A streetcar named heating”, or the StreetTram, will stand there every day from 8:30 p.m. till 6:00 a.m. for one week until Friday 19th February, 6:00 a.m. The initiative may be prolonged if the frost persists and there is still demand for help.
‘For more than one year, the Streetbus has run on the Wroclaw streets in winter months to support people who need such help,’ says the Mayor of Wroclaw Jacek Sutryk. ‘We know how necessary this initiative was – the streetbus is used by 600–700 persons every week. This is the coldest winter for years, so we decided to extend our help.’
The interior of the double-car Konstal 105NaWr tram has been arranged so that meals could be dispensed in accordance with the sanitary restrictions. A meal dispensing zone has been laid out to ensure the safety of persons affected by the crisis of homelessness, streetworkers and the tram driver.
Apart from that, a portable toilet for addressees of the StreetTram initiative has been mounted close to the place where the street-tram stands.
The initiative has been launched thanks to co-operation with MPK Wroclaw, the Department of Social Participation of the Wroclaw City Office, the Municipal Social Welfare Centre and the Homo Sacer Foundation.
‘When temperatures are low, access to support institutions can be difficult,’ says Andrzej Ptak from the Homo Sacer FoundatIon. ‘The tram is an alternative form of support aimed at reducing damages and protecting homeless persons from having to sleep in cellars or derelict flats.’
