lifestyle

Tokyo Project helping homeless in Japan

5 Comments
By Marjorie Meyssignac

Doctors of the World (DoW), an international humanitarian organization providing medical care to vulnerable populations, implemented the Tokyo Project in April 2010. This project aims to assist homeless people suffering from mental disorders, and eventually allow them to reintegrate into society.

The task is delicate, because the beneficiaries need special treatment due to their mental health issues, and is also laborious to carry through, because of the lack of understanding and empathy from the general population, which has a tendency to consider that homeless people choose this way of life deliberately.

DoW aims to disseminate information about the reality. While working along with medical volunteers and researchers, the NPO found out that over 60% of the homeless population suffers from mental disorders such as depression, schizophrenia or low IQ. This means that without help and support, they are not able to find a way out of their downward spiral. Furthermore, most of them cannot benefit from the different forms of aid provided by the government, since the person concerned must make the applications and the procedure is far too complicated and thus overwhelming for most of them.

To help alleviate this problem, DoW created Tokyo Project. For the past five years, it has carried out its work with the help of numerous volunteers as well as other NPO partners. Weekly medical consultations have been provided to the beneficiaries, including health check-ups, with general practitioners, as well as mental healthcare consultations with psychologists and psychiatrists. All consultations take place in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district.

In addition, different activities have been carried out, including:

-- Physical exercise classes such as volleyball, yoga, stretching etc. -- Arts and crafts workshops
-- Cooking classes and bread-making classes

These workshops have been created with and by volunteers -- some are sports teachers, one is a chef. The main goal of those activities is to create a social environment in which homeless people can get used to interacting with other people again. In fact, for some, it has been years since they had a discussion with another person.

In addition to field activities, there is advocacy work that aims to bring about a change in the law regarding accessibility of public assistance for the homeless. For instance, DoW in partnership with other NPOs, carried out an advocacy project called “Futon Project”, which aims to change the process of application for welfare during the New Year holiday season.

DoW also regularly solicits the government and the city ward to discuss the failure of the assistance already available and to propose alternatives and new schemes.

An example is “Housing First” which is a relatively recent innovation in human service programs and social policy regarding treatment of the homeless. It is an alternative to a system of emergency shelter: rather than moving homeless individuals through different “levels” of housing, whereby each level moves them closer to “independent housing” (for example from the streets to a public shelter, and from a public shelter to a transitional housing program and from there to their own apartment in the community), Housing First moves the homeless individual immediately from the streets or homeless shelters into their own apartments. Housing First approaches are based on the concept that a homeless individual's first and primary need is to obtain stable housing, and that other issues that may affect the household can and should be addressed once housing is obtained.

Recently, the NPO has been filmed as part of a televised documentary project about homelessness in Japan, hoping that it will help raise awareness as well as raise money and thus help toward possible solutions. The documentaries will be broadcasted on TBS and NHK.

To get involved with the NGO’s activities or participate in upcoming events, click here or visit http://www.mdm.or.jp/english/ or email info@mdm.or.jp

© Japan Today

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5 Comments
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Sounds like an inventive and well organized project. We find more often these days the volunteer sector having to make up a growing lack of government services with the turn to neoliberalism and corporate welfare.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Contrast this with America, where the police abuse, kick, brutalize and shoot homeless people. And many of these homeless are caused by our government's economic policies and high property taxes.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

I do not think cooking classes or baking bread are the kinds of classes the homeless would want to take. These people are brilliant at survival. The heavy rains we had really took a toll on the blue sheet people along river banks. Perhaps resetting them up once again would help them.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Helping people in need is always a good thing to do. Don't know how ? Just ask them " How are you ? " A toothless smile can be surprisingly heart warming and inspiring.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Sorry to be the one to point this out but did any1else notice the 2 cans of chi hi next to the old boy in the pic. Ive done plenty work with the homeless here and overseas. Alcohol is connected to a HUGE percent of the people I have cared for. I.M.O a support system no matter how basic can help people get back on there feet but we need a place for them to fit in in society which is hard in a capitalistic society.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

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