Voluntary organizations and social services are needed for Norway’s population all over the country, all year round. Also in summer.
That is why the despair is great when Fattighuset Grønland in Oslo closes its doors for the holidays.
– The consequences can be very serious. The need is there even if it’s a holiday, says Fattighuset’s chairman Lasse Nyheim Storvik to Avisa Oslo, who mentioned the matter first.
This is the Poor House:
Fattighuset is a voluntary organization whose aim is to help people in a difficult situation.
The organization distributes food and clothing and other support as it can. The poor house also aims to “help people to help themselves”, they state on their website.
Source: Volunteer Norway.
sea view
More and more are struggling
On Monday, the Salvation Army announced a doubling in the number of food deliveries in several places in the country compared to last year.
– More and more people are struggling. We really see it, and are very concerned about the situation, says assistant social manager in the Salvation Army, Elin Herikstad, to TV 2.
She says that this does not just apply to the actual increase in the number of extraditions, but that the degree of seriousness has also increased.
– The math doesn’t add up
This does not surprise chairman Storvik at Fattighuset. He tells Avisa Oslo that the political situation with high food prices and the war in Ukraine will most likely increase requests from the Salvation Army even more.
When Dagbladet visited Fattighuset in June, Storvik said that their capacity had been exceeded and that they were outgrowing the premises.
– More people come here now than before. We are working as fast as we can, he said at the time.
EVEN FLOW: There is generally a lot of traffic at Fattighuset Grønland, summer and winter. Photo: Lars Eivind Bones/Dagbladet. view more
Smooth flow
So far this summer, there has been a steady flow of work at Fattighuset Grønland in Oslo.
They usually distribute food on Wednesdays and Fridays, and on Mondays they also distribute clothes.
Chairman Storvik informs Avisa Oslo that there are around 650 to 700 people who visit the organization on the relevant days for food distribution.
He also adds that he experiences an additional need for financial support for food and electricity.
These must now be left without the voluntary support of the organisation, as long as the doors are kept closed for the holidays.
According to Storvik, it is common practice to keep it closed during the summer holidays. He says it is due to a lack of capacity, as the organization is run by volunteers.
Picking up tourist poo
He is still worried about the consequences of keeping the summer closed.
– I will flag a desire to stay open all year round – even if it is not easy, he comments.
According to the newspaper, the chairman emphasizes that people with special needs received extra support from the organization before the board went on holiday.
Although also several of the Salvation Army’s offers is closed for the summer, it seems that food will still be distributed in several of Norway’s largest cities.
According to the organisation’s websites, this will be possible in Oslo, Bergen, Kristiansand, Tønsberg and Harstad, among others. Some other places will, however, be closed due to holiday closures.
The Salvation Army also offers holiday offers and activities for families with children throughout the summer. Such trips and activities are advertised on the organisation’s premises.
2023-07-17 18:06:56
#poorhouse #closed
