Felicity (Saadet) Party Fatih District Youth Branch continues to work for the homeless neighbors of Istanbul this year as it has been for 7 years. The work that started with two thermos soups years ago has now turned into a movement that provides food, clothes, blankets, medicine and many other aids to thousands of homeless. Interest in the work of the Saadet Party Fatih District Youth Branch, which is closely followed by social media and press organizations in Turkey, for the homeless is increasing. In addition to the aid provided to orphans living on the streets, National Vision youth of Fatih, who put forward a series of projects to solve the problem fundamentally, became a beacon of hope for hundreds of homeless people they identified. As Millî Gazete, we examined the works of the youth of Fatih National Vision (Milli Gorus) on site and got information from Safa Ocak, the head of the Saadet Party Fatih District Youth Branch.
“WE ARE DOING THE BEST WE CAN IN OUR OWN REGION”
We gathered important information for the readers of the Milli Gazete by attendig the one of the routine works carried out by the Saadet Party Fatih District Youth Branch according to the needs of the homeless. Safa Ocak, the head of the Saadet Party Fatih District Youth Branch, which has been coordinating the work for the homeless for 7 years, stated that they started working before the winter months and said, “We have started our work for the homeless since the first week of November 2021. This year, we are constantly helping 347 homeless people at 106 points. In addition to the homeless people we identified and recorded, we also distributed aid to many homeless people. Because some homeless people are not in a fixed place. A homeless person who wakes up in Fatih today can go to Beyoğlu tomorrow. But we are doing our best in our region.”
“1,091 BLANKETS, 158 SLEEPING BAG, 236 BOOTS AND MORE THAN A THOUSAND CLOTHES”
Drawing attention to the extent of their aid to the homeless, “The vast majority of the aid we provide to the homeless in 2022 is for their protection from winter conditions. In this context, we distributed 1,091 blankets, 158 sleeping bags, 236 boots and more than a thousand clothes for homeless people in Fatih in this year. Apart from all these, we also deal with the health problems of the homeless. Our work on the supply of their medicines and taking them to the hospital continues. We continue to work for these homeless brothers and sisters that we have been trying to serve for years,” Safa Ocak added.
“WE ENSURED AN ACADEMIC ARTICLE TO BE PUBLISHED”
Safa Ocak also referred to their work on the radical solution of the homeless problem and said, “While we are dealing with the homeless, we are also fighting for the solution of the issue. We collect information from every homeless person we help and share it with the authorities. By combining all the data we collect, we obtain various statistics. For example, 26 percent of the homeless people we sent aid to in Fatih are foreign nationals. We also have data such as the average age and health status of homeless people. In the light of these data, we ensured an academic article to be published last year. Public institutions and private institutions have contacted with us to benefit from this article.”