'People here are no different from us'

Two homeless men take a nap in a three tier wooden bunk bed in Dream City, a homeless shelter located near Seoul Station, Thursday. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Reporter tells of one night stay at shelter

By Lee Min-hyung

Having to stay overnight in a homeless shelter is a depressing last resort that few people want to contemplate. But for hundreds of citizens in Seoul, it is a daily reality.

At 8 p.m. in Dream City, a shelter located near the capital’s central station, a 46-year-old man, surnamed Park, begins to call an evening roll to a group of around 30 homeless people waiting to hear their names.

One gray-haired man sat nervously on a chair. It was his first day at the shelter.

“We have one newcomer today, and he is going to stay with us for the time being,” said Park, who was on night duty.

Park has stayed at the shelter for nearly three years. Given that most of the homeless people leave the shelter within a month after failing to adapt to the new environment, his three-year residence in the shelter is surprising.

After introducing the guy with gray hair to the other people in the community, Park helps him unpack his luggage.

The new arrival behaved like a new conscript in a military barracks. He knew nothing about life at the shelter and acted cautiously.

But Park guided him and introduced him to the place in order to help him adapt.

After the roll call, the temporary residents began busily washing their feet and taking showers.

Hygiene in homeless shelters is expected to be limited. However, the residents of Dream City do not resemble the majority of people who live on the streets.

In order to stay overnight they must follow three rules: No drinking, no fighting and promise to maintain sanitary habits. They must also test negative for tuberculosis.

After washing themselves, the temporary residents then go to three tier wooden bunk beds to sleep.

The worn-out beds are slightly narrower than standard single bunks. When a fully-grown adult lies down on one, they can barely move.

But electric heating pads are placed beneath each mattress providing warmth and comfort against the freezing night air.

Park, however, couldn't go to sleep because he was on night duty.

“As some people arrive throughout the night after work, two night-shift workers who are also residents of the shelter remain awake,” he said.

Dream City turns out all the lights at 10 p.m. to enable all the residents to go to sleep.

The following day begins at 5:30 a.m., when the night-shift staffers open the doors of the shelter. Homeless people wandering the streets nearby enter the Dream City to escape the freezing cold.

“When I first set foot on this shelter three years ago, only the first floor was used for the homeless to rest and recover.” said Park.

A warehouse filled with odds and ends was located at the second floor, while the third floor is used to provide job search support for homeless people; a company funds a project to connect people who came to the shelter looking for job opportunities.

Many of the facilities now provided by Dream City: sleeping areas, bathrooms to wash, a place to eat were all previously compressed into the space on the first floor.

However, increasing numbers of people began to donate money to the shelter, which enabled a managing pastor of the shelter to rent the whole three-story building.

“Several non-profit organizations working for the homeless give bread for Dream City. And we provide bread for around 200 homeless people every morning.” Park said.

“We also serve lunch and dinner, seven days a week for all the temporary residents here. The only thing they have to do is wash the food trays themselves after having meals.”

There was a world of differences between homeless shelters, according to a homeless man, surnamed Lee.

“I have visited a number of other shelters before, but could not stay long because they forced me to follow lots of strict rules to sleep there,” Lee said. “Some shelters do not allow me to stay unless I work during the day.”

As noon approaches, two people arrive on the third floor from the kitchen on the floor below and people begin lining up to have lunch.

Each resident has a food tray which they wash after eating.

“You can do anything here only if you keep the rules. We are not forcing the homeless to do anything. After lunch, they can take a nap or enjoy board games,” said Park.

According to a number of homeless people, the city government forces them to work against their will in order to gain a bed for the night in shelters

“When I was staying at other shelters, most of them forced me to take education courses or work outside by means of some programs,” said one of the residents.

The programs include “provision of education courses for the homeless to train to in hospitality,” set forth by the Seoul government.

The homeless have long been denounced for lacking the will to work and enjoying a lazy life at homeless shelters.

But not all of them are unwilling to work at Dream City. After having breakfast, more than half of the residents go out to work, while others stay at the shelter managing the facility due to ill health.