Human Rights Defender Reveals Violations in Temporary Shelter for the Homeless

Representatives of the Human Rights Defender made an unannounced visit to the temporary shelter for the homeless managed by the "Hans Christian Kofod" charitable foundation on December 26, 2019. According to a Government decision, homeless individuals are provided with temporary accommodation for a period of up to 90 days.

During the visit, the living conditions of the shelter, sanitation and communal facilities, care for beneficiaries, medical assistance, food provision, and the situation regarding the rights and fundamental freedoms of the beneficiaries were assessed. Individual interviews were also conducted with staff members of the shelter and the beneficiaries residing there.

The following main issues were recorded:

• Beneficiaries claimed that persons with disabilities are deprived of the opportunity to independently manage their pensions because, although they receive the money personally, part of the amount is given to the shelter staff “to keep or pay attention to them” in the establishment.
• The shelter's building, bathrooms, and toilets are not adapted to the needs of persons with disabilities.
• The criteria for furnishing the individual rooms established by the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia on January 31, 2014, have not been maintained.
• Insufficient personal hygiene items for residents are provided.
• There are no unified procedures for collecting, maintaining, and managing health-related data.
• Proper disposal of medical waste is not ensured in accordance with legislative requirements.
• Sanitary-hygienic conditions in the kitchen and food storage are inadequate.
• No food accounting register is maintained.
• During the visit, expired food items were found in the facility, including yogurt (expiry date: December 25, 2019), "Lastochka" candies (expiry date: June 30, 2019), and peach jam (expiry date: September 7, 2019).
• It was recorded that the cottage cheese and sour cream intended for breakfast on that day were not provided.
• The procedure for sampling prepared food does not comply with the regulations established by Armenian law, specifically, a healthcare worker is not present during the sampling.
• Bathing is scheduled once a week, with beneficiaries reportedly receiving a maximum of 20 minutes, after which hot water is turned off or the beneficiary is forcibly removed from the bathroom.
• No logs are maintained for recording injuries or suspected cases of violence.
• Periodic entries are absent in the medical records of the beneficiaries.
• The mandatory initial (upon employment) and periodic medical examination processes for shelter staff are not being followed, and personal sanitary (medical) books are not provided.

Both the shelter's director and staff fully cooperated with the representatives of the Human Rights Defender during the exercise of their powers, and no obstacles arose in their work. Important issues regarding building conditions and the provision of services delegated by the state were discussed with the director and staff.

Many of the issues noted during the visit received immediate solutions, particularly the removal of “isolation” signs from the individual rooms that were causing social exclusion and discrimination where there were no grounds for isolating residents. Agreements were reached on addressing several violations.

In particular, a complaints box will be installed in the shelter, a food accounting register and an injury log will be introduced, and the confidentiality of phone calls will be ensured when providing city telephone services, excluding the presence of third parties in the designated room.

The Human Rights Defender emphasizes the readiness of the "Hans Christian Kofod" charitable foundation to take measures to address the identified issues, as well as to initiate new programs in the area of service improvement. The results of ongoing monitoring, including the documented issues, will be summarized as required and sent with proposals for solutions and requests for clarifications to the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia and the management of the shelter.