The Houses of Saint Lazarus are intended for people in crisis: often homeless, addicted, or depressed. These are people who have long lost their inherent human dignity, sometimes by their own choice. I wrote „sometimes” because there are situations where dignity is taken away simply because someone doesn't have a home, can't cope with their emotions, feelings, or addiction. I wrote "inherent," yet our charges often speak of a lack of dignity. Unfortunately, we humans tend to segregate people into better and worse, into those who are useful and those who are not. The House of Saint Lazarus is a HOME for everyone. Providing help to those in need cannot be limited in any way: help must be above the status of homeless, addicted, or depressed. Help must be above political, religious, or ideological divisions. However, help must demand something in return. Then we call such help love. I invite you to read on.
Different people come to our Houses: believers, non-believers, from the left and right of the political spectrum, and sometimes with no views at all. Most often, they are people with addictions, often unable to return to their family homes. Our meeting begins with a conversation by phone, on the street, or in the hospital. We want people to experience that they don't have to be alone with their problems. It's important for them to know from the beginning that there is hope, there is a chance for a change in life. Not alone, not by themselves, but together.
I remember Darek, who slept in an abandoned bus for several days before coming to us. He reconnected with his son. Today he's on his own. There's also Grzesiu, who used to hang out by the church every day. He's in House #2: his passion is DIY. There's Przemek, who slept on stairways or „under the stars.” Today he's in House #1: he's working and attending therapy. There's Mariusz, Janusz, and Przemysław, who used to sleep in vacant buildings. Where are they today? The Houses of Saint Lazarus became a true oasis for them, a chance to change their way of life. They're working, paying off their debts, some are restoring relationships with their families, maintaining sobriety, and pursuing their passions. They're simply living! And these are just a few of the nearly 40 individuals in our Houses. Some will live there for the rest of their lives, or at least as long as our Houses exist. Do you think it was worth it to restore their hope?
One day I heard a colleague who visited our Home tell me that he had spoken with a resident who told him about their admission to the Home:
„I got a bed, you understand? I have my own bed and a locker! And on top of that, I got keys! You know what that means! I have a HOME!.
This confession deeply moved me. I didn't even realize that such simple things could restore a person's dignity. However, shelter is just the beginning. Now, solid work is needed to make good use of the given opportunity. There's a need for paid work to pay off debts, and further treatment is required (addiction therapy, AA meetings, meetings with a psychologist or psychiatrist). The residents at St. Lazarus Houses know they have to take advantage of this. And the most beautiful thing is that they don't have to, but they want to use the help of specialists. They know that if they neglect the meetings, they won't fully utilize the chance they've received.
Good habits are another thing that requires effort. We don't often have guests, but when we do host someone in our homes, you can often hear:
„Do only men really live here? It's so clean!”.
Yes! Our clients know they need to take care of where they live. They strive to keep the House and garden in the best possible order. There are situations where we teach them order, when a schedule for cleaning common areas is not enough. More than once, I've taught a client how to fold t-shirts for the closet, or pants, so they aren't wrinkled. We teach our clients that sobriety begins with order around them. After all, there is a fine line between mess, boredom, addiction, and depression. Therefore, order in the closets must also be maintained.
Someone might accuse me: "But it's not entirely true that everyone can be accepted into the House of St. Lazarus." Indeed! There are a few situations that might lead us to not accept someone:
- physically disabled person – unfortunately our Houses are not adapted for disabled people who use wheelchairs or crutches,
- a person unwilling to work on themselves – this particularly applies to addicted individuals: we begin our collaboration with addiction treatment, which involves 8 weeks of therapy (we collaborate with the addiction treatment department of the Provincial Hospital in Poznań). If someone is unwilling to undergo therapy, unfortunately, we cannot accept them.
- the person is not self-sufficient – these are people with profound mental disorders who are unable to function on their own, unable to take up gainful employment,
- Pensioners – we realize this is a rather controversial topic. There are pensioners who cannot afford to rent anything on the open real estate market, but can contribute to the upkeep of our Home. However, these individuals are often ill and require various forms of daily assistance. In our Homes, we strongly emphasize independence.
The House of Saint Lazarus is for everyone, because we want to be guided by love for humanity. But no We can help everyone, at all NEVER due to limitations in love, because love for life gives us strength to work, but due to financial limitations. Every help must be real, it must fulfill its function. Every help must be wise, adapted to the needs of the ward, but also to their capabilities. Every help must have requirements. If there are no requirements, help will not be effective. Nevertheless, we still have more people asking for help than available spots.
Finally, I'll mention that the first House of Saint Lazarus was opened 6 years ago. Today, there are four such Houses. Therefore, I want to thank everyone who contributes their brick to this beautiful work: private donors, supporting companies, and all friends of the Foundation. It is thanks to you that many people in need of help have received a key to the House. And I know that thanks to you, (yes!) you, who are reading this, thanks to you as well, another person can receive such a key. Will you join us? What do you think: is it worth it?
Maciej Białka
President of the Do Good Spreads Foundation
tel. 508 633 850
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