As you may remember, in articles that appeared in the January12, January 26, and February 2, 2005 issues of Hetq, we tried to convey the unfortunate state of the homeless in Armenia. Last winter, forty-one homeless people died of the cold. Hetq also organized a campaigned entitled “The Right to Life”, which featured a documentary made by Hetq and Yerkir Media, and an exhibition by photojournalist Onnik Krikorian.

Eventually, the government decided to build a shelter for the homeless in Yerevan. Construction is planned to begin in 2006, which means that this winter, dozens of homeless people will once again die in the streets of Yerevan.

We recently received a letter from Filaret Berikyan, Vice Minister of Labor and Social Security, which explained, “The financing of the renovation of the building from the government budget will only commence in 2006. That means that during the 2005-2006 winter, these homeless people will remain without shelter once again. We ask you to provide us a list of sponsors that have previously informed you of their willingness to provide financial support for the renovation and reconstruction of the shelter for the homeless.”

We were informed by Jema Baghdasaryan, an official in the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, that they hope to collect enough money to renovate fifteen apartments in the shelter before the winter starts. The project will require $20,000.

We ask all those who responded to our articles and wanted to help the homeless to contact Filaret Berikyan, Vice Minister of Labor and Social Security.

Phone: +(37410) 565365, +(37410) 521761, Email: [email protected]

or

Hetq Phone: +(37410) 563149, Email: [email protected]

Hetq Editorial Board