Archive for category: News

Andrei arrived in Ireland two years ago from Bulgaria with the hopes of learning English and earning some money. Over the months, he worked in various places, most recently on a cow farm. Without access to a bank branch, Andy kept his savings with him, which he guarded diligently.

Andrei worked alongside two colleagues. One day, one of them stole all his belongings and life savings. Devastated, Andy reported the theft to the police, but unfortunately, the Garda were unable to locate the thief. This loss was compounded when Andy subsequently lost his job and accommodation, forcing him to sleep rough.

Andrei reached out to Focus Ireland, who then referred him to us at Barka. Recognizing his immediate needs, we arranged for Andy to stay one night in a hostel where he could rest and shower. Additionally, we booked a flight for him to return home.

Andrei was very grateful for the support he received from Barka. He shared his plans to start working as a tour guide in Bulgaria, using the English skills he acquired during his time in Ireland. Andrei has returned to his mother’s house to recover and regroup.

Andriei’s story is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the importance of timely support. While his journey in Ireland ended abruptly and tragically, the assistance provided by Focus Ireland and Barka has given him the chance to rebuild his life and pursue new opportunities. Andrei’s determination and positive outlook serve as an inspiration, highlighting the critical role of community support services in times of crisis.

Quarterly monitoring report on the work of BARKA For Mutual Help IE with Central and Eastern European migrants in Dublin
01/01/2024 – 31/03/2024

TOTAL NUMBER OF RECONNECTIONS

01/2012–03/2023: 1001 PERSONS

BARKA IE is a charity based in Dublin working to help people experiencing homelessness. It is a part of world BARKA network with branches in the UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Iceland, having its roots in Poland. BARKA IE as an organization was established in 2011 in response to the increasing number of Central and Eastern European migrants sleeping in the streets of Ireland, suffering from homelessness and substance abuse. Through our services, we support people to help them out of homelessness for good. We do this through providing them with the opportunity to reconnect and socially reintegrate into their home country. This is possible due to the vast possibilities of support for individuals within the Barka Foundation Network projects in Poland, where people could go back to their families or receive help in addressing their addiction problems.

In our migrant support projects, we work in teams of two; a leader and a social assistant. The leader is a person who has a personal experience of homelessness and addiction, that they combated with Barka Network’s educational and community programs. The social assistant is a person who is familiar with the languages that our clients speak and regulations in Ireland and has a formal education (e.g. a degree in social work, psychology, etc.) Together, they work in a team to help individuals reconnect with their families in other countries.

BARKA IRELAND 4 core objectives are:

1. Provide Information, Advice and Repatriation to a person’s home Country
2. Assistance with Accessing Emergency Accommodation when required
3. Fostering Social and Vocational Integration – educational and community programs, creating workplaces and accessible housing programmes (BARKA NETWORK)
4. Key Work and Case Management; Language and Translation Service

1. Type of contacts:

At BARKA, the incredible tenacity of our employees has enabled us to continue to be able to tackle homelessness head on. We work tirelessly to offer face-to-face services – and we continue to offer vital support and advice remotely. From January to March 2024 we’ve had 405 contacts with 90 individuals. We’ve had regular contact with many of the people whom we’ve met for the first time in previous years. In the meantime, we also met 62 newcomers.

Most of these contacts were made via outreach work at the main squares and shopping centres of Dublin, where many homeless people gather. We work in close partnership with Local Councils, Outreach Teams and Day Centres. across Dublin (Capuchin Day Centre, Merchants Quay Ireland, Simon Community Outreach team, Focus Ireland, and The Light House to name a few). Social workers in hospitals and prisons are in contact with our team to assist clients from these places.

Barka’s team also has regular contact and supports people over the phone, email and social media. Barka’s team is also assisting groups of homeless people who do not use services such as day support centers.

2. Nationality of people we met

From the 1st January 2024 until 31^st of March 2024 there were

  33 persons reconnected:

22 men
5 women
6 youngsters

Including 2 families

1. Nationality

BARKA supported individuals of 13 nationalities – 14 from EU and 1 from outside the EU.

The majority of homeless people who’ve returned to their countries with Barka’s support are Romanians, but our team also works with clients of other nationalities, mainly Polish, Lithuanian and Slovak citizens. Communicating with homeless groups is made easier due to the presence of Barka leaders who are former homeless persons with many years of training and preparation from Barka.

2. Destination

3. BARKA’S team also supported 2 persons with obtaining documents necessary for travel.

4. Situation of reconnected persons

Most of our beneficiaries are rough sleepers: sleeping in a tent in the woods, in parks and squares, on a friend’s couch or in a car. A significant number of those looking for BARKA’S support were seeking shelter at the Dublin Airport or Garda Stations.

5. Majority of people reconected by BARKA are males

6. Referrals:

On the occasion of the 10^th Anniversary of Barka NL (Stichting Barka), a study visit involving the international Barka network, co-funded by the EU Erasmus Plus programme, took place with the following participants: Barka NL, Barka UK, Barka Ireland, the Barka For Mutual Aid Foundation in Poland and Barka Germany

By Anna McKeever

Tuesday, 26th September

Most groups travelled on the day and reached their accommodation in the afternoon or in the evening.

Wednesday, 27th September

The participants in the study visit were divided into small groups and, along with Barka Leaders from individual cities, participated in the patrols of their mobile groups and visited day centres, where they could directly observe the work of Barka NL and ask questions related to helping homeless immigrants in the Netherlands. The cities visited by the groups were: Groningen, The Hague, Eindhoven, Utrecht, Rotterdam, Gouda, Rozendaal & Antwerp.

In The Hague, Barka NL, under the leadership of Larisa, is co-creating, in co-operation with the city and two other organisations, a project involving the New Generation Multicultural Centre for Migrants. We also saw a modern-day centre for homeless people created in a Protestant church in Rotterdam.

We ended the day in a special way by meeting together in the evening for dinner and sharing our impressions and experiences with others, in addition to welcoming those who had arrived in the Netherlands that afternoon.

Thursday, 28th September

All participants in the study visit arrived, along with Barka NL employees and volunteers, in Utrecht in the morning, where a conference was held to celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Barka in the Netherlands. The conference was hosted by Ziggy Klazes, a TV presenter, and opened by Rachel Streefland, the Commissioner of Social Affairs, who welcomed the guests on behalf of Utrecht City Council. Ewa Sadowska-Keogh welcomed the participants on behalf of the Barka Management Board.

The conference was also attended by: Magdalena Chwarścianek-Mitov, Director of Barka NL and Barka Belgium, who gave an overview of the history of the creation of Barka NL and its activities in The Netherlands. Barbara Sadowska, whom the conference host interviewed, talked about the mission of Barka and the organisation’s beginnings in Poland over 30 years ago.

Piotr Śmigielski (whose nickname is No. 7), told his story of meeting Barka and gave an account of the changes which had taken place in his life, along with some challenging moments and his work for Barka now as a Leader.

The next stage of the programme, entitled: “Employees from Central and Eastern Europe in difficult situations” prepared by Elske Witts, a senior researcher at the Research Institute in The Hague, involved the presentation of research results. Between the speeches and presentations there was time for short performances by the violinist Ewa Pepper.

One interesting part of the programme was a panel discussion on offering better healthcare and shelter for homeless migrants from CEE countries, in which the following panellists participated: Monique van den Berg, Director of the EU Project for Economic Workers from The Hague, Ronald Smit, responsible for public health in the municipality of Utrecht, Sabine Beerbaum, from the Association of Dutch Municipalities and Cities, Ferdinand van de Velde, Head of the Salvation Army Day Centre in Utrecht, and Larisa Melinceanu, Coordinator of the ‘Returns’ Programme, which facilitates the return to the countries of origin of homeless migrants.

Friday, 29th September

In the morning, we started the day with a visit to the Salvation Army Day Centre in Utrecht, where the head of the facility described its activities and the manner in which homeless migrants are looked after, along with their rights or rather the lack of them, and cooperation with the Barka NL staff who work at the centre.

From Utrecht we took a train to the Barka NL office in The Hague, where we were joined by Barka NL leaders and their assistants, along with some employees and volunteers. The 10th birthday of Barka NL was celebrated in a grand fashion in the office in the Hague.

After lunch and numerous conversations, it was time for a birthday cake (or even two!) and a group photo. We had the opportunity to learn more about the work of the Barka NL employees in The Hague and the crucial work of Barka volunteers.

After this meeting, it was time for a brief visit to the seaside promenade in The Hague before returning to our hotels.

Saturday, 30th September

On Saturday morning we went to Amsterdam for the whole day, meeting a Polish-speaking guide at the station and exploring the city centre.

After the sightseeing tour and a short coffee break, we went to the canal embankment where a boat was waiting for us. We had lunch on the vessel and admired the many beautiful views of Amsterdam and its canals.

Our leaders were presented with special certificates for completing the study visit – it was also time to exchange our experiences and impressions of visiting Barka NL and the Netherlands.

Niedziela, 1 października

Czas wyjazdu/wylotu dla wszystkich uczestników wizyty studyjnej. Dziękujemy całemu zespołowi Barki NL za przygotowanie super ciekawego, pouczającego i integracyjnego pobytu w Holandii oraz za okazaną cierpliwość, życzliwość i piękne wspomnienia które ze sobą zabraliśmy.

Barka Ireland would like to thank Mary Flynn, Deputy Director at DRHE Housing and Community Services who is leaving Dublin City Council to enjoy her retirement, for her dedication and service to the citizens of Dublin Region, and for her support to civil society.

Mary has been very passionate about ending homelessness and rough sleeping in Dublin and has been very supportive of grassroots initiatives helping those who are struggling including migrants and refugees who are susceptible to facing difficulties as they are trying to build their new lives in Ireland.

Thank you, Mary, for your contribution to peace and social inclusion.