The Star
KUALA LUMPUR, 26 JULY 2012 - Three more homeless shelters will be set up by the National Welfare Foundation under the Anjung Singgah project.
The foundation's board of trustees chair-man Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said the new shelters would be located in Sarawak, Johor and Penang by the end of the year.
“The shelter in Kuching, Sarawak, is almost ready while the other two will be opened by the end of the year,” said Shahrizat.
The Anjung Singgah project, which began operations on April 9 last year, provides temporary accommodation to the homeless, as well as meals.
Sharizat said 572 people had registered in the first shelter located in Bangunan Ehsan on Jalan Hang Lekiu here since it opened.
“The new shelters will be modelled after the Kuala Lumpur shelter, with similar objectives too,” she said.
The homeless are allowed stay in the shelter for up to two weeks and are given assistance to find employment and perma-nent accommodation.
“While the guidelines state they can only stay two weeks, in some instances they have been allowed to stay longer and given more time get back on their feet,” she said during a buka puasa event here.
The foundation also distributed Ramadan goodies to the less fortunate including the elderly, orphans, abandoned children and street kids.
Also present were Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Ahmad Phesal Talib and Malaysian Red Crescent Society national vice-chairman Datuk Noordin Abd Razak.