Centre For Holistic Development CHD Key Issues and
Operational Areas, Major Activiities & Achivements
Operational Districts: Central, East, New Delhi, North, North East, North West, South, South West, West
Operational States: DELHI
AchieveMents: In 2011, Centre for Holistic Development-CHD emerged in Delhi as one of the few ââ¬Ëon the streetââ¬â¢ workers working with the homeless Citizenââ¬â¢s with an emphasis on leadership and capacity building within the homeless community. Prior experience of anchoring the UNDP survey on homeless people in Delhi in 2010 equipped the now formed CHD to take its work forward. Though based in Delhi CHD aspires to work all over India in the coming future.
CHD aims to build a self sustainable environment of community care and social inclusion for Homeless Citizens through a rights based approach ensuring a better quality of life. It works towards building safe, community care giving spaces for the homeless citizens through increased participation by establishing their identity as citizens and ensuring access to shelter, food, health, hygiene, safety, privacy, legal powers and freedom from oppression and violence.
Scope of work:
We have managed, in our short term, to work in all 11 revenue districts in Delhi touching a population of over 80,000 people approximately of the 1.5 lakh homeless population of the city. This includes all areas of public transactions like railways, bus stops and markets. We also work with 5000 porters all over Delhi, in their work and living areas and plan to scale this work to porters all over India.
Presently CHD is involved with ââ¬Ëon streetââ¬â¢ night vigilance accompanied with aid and emergency services. These interventions span over the following themes while engaging with urban poverty.
A crucial aspect of CHDââ¬â¢s work is the night vigilance that it does to ensure security of and aid provision to the homeless citizens. Aid can be in terms of provision of immediate food and shelter, medical aid, legal aid, intervention with the police or emergency aid depending on the situation.
At the present moment CHD reaches out to three emergency interventions per day. Since December 2013, 10 pregnant and lactating women have been provided with shelter, 10 children have been put under shelter care through the CWC and 5 homeless women have been repatriated with their families. Given the nature of work being situational CHD maintains a network with 80,000 homeless citizens and works towards their day to day needs.
Need for Night Vigil:
Going by government records there are many seasonal deaths and the number tolls higher every year. CHD in collaboration with SAM-BKS took out a report on the basis of the night vigils conducted which estimated the death toll on Delhi streets as follows:
- Between 1st September 2013 to 23rd January 2014 to be 1113, most of whom were homeless.
- Between 1st April 2013 to 30th June 2013 to be 835 which has risen to 935 deaths during the same time frame in 2014.
The report elucidating winter deaths compelled the NHRC to send out a notice to the Delhi Government. At the time the Delhi Government erected 70 more shelters in response during the winter. However, the number of shelters are not even close to addressing the issue of homelessness or the needs of the homeless citizens.