In our society, we live alongside people who are not fortunate enough to have a home or who are living in situations of marginalisation. This situation has a major impact on their lives and, in many cases, affects or worsens their health. Chronic wounds already pose a significant challenge even under ‘normal circumstances’; just imagine what that means for people who are homeless or living in situations of marginalisation.
At Jannu Ferides, we want to do our bit through the ‘Aixopluc’ programme — a beautiful and highly descriptive Catalan word that translates into English as “Shelter”.
Through ‘Aixopluc-Shelter’, we aim to help and support people who are homeless or in situations of social exclusion and who have wounds that are not being adequately treated by our healthcare system.
Jannu Ferides was born, among other reasons, from a passion for mountain activities. Those of us who love the mountains know how important it is to have proper shelter when circumstances become difficult. That is why, thanks to an exemplary cooperative effort, mountain enthusiasts join clubs and rely on a network of mountain refuges that allows us to take shelter in an environment that is, by definition, hostile.
For a mountaineer, a refuge is a very special place where, in addition to finding shelter, food and rest, you also find — through the wardens and the people there — advice, companionship and help when needed.
Through ‘Aixopluc-Shelter’, and thanks to the work of our volunteers, we want to welcome, guide, care for, accompany and follow up people who are homeless or in situations of social exclusion and who have some type of wound, helping them towards resolution through the appropriate healthcare structures. In other words, we want to offer them a “refuge” that helps them recover their health and self-esteem, and that contributes to enabling them to overcome their situation of homelessness or marginalisation as soon as possible.
In this project, we are starting to work with different organisations that support people who are homeless or living in situations of marginalisation — such as Fundació Pa dels Pobres, Caliu Espai d’Acolliment and Salut al carrer— to optimise our efforts in detecting, assessing, managing and following up each case, taking into account their specific personal circumstances.
At present, we are carrying out this action on a pilot basis, with three successful cases in the city of Barcelona, although we believe it can be readily scaled to other similar settings.
A project like this needs enthusiasm, hands and resources.
Would you like to collaborate?
Would you like to suggest a place where we could extend the “Aixopluc-Shelter” programme?
You can email us at: info@jannu-ferides.org