Barka party at POSK |
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There were great hopes when Poland joined the EU in 2004, and people were allowed to travel freely and work in Europe for the first time. For most, the journey has ended successfully; Polish professionals and tradespeople have found work and are making a valuable contribution to British society. But there have also been casualties. When British borders were opened to Eastern European Accession countries, there were no services in place to support those who did not find employment or somewhere to live.
One charity that is dedicated to supporting homeless Poles in the UK is Barka (the name means 'boat') Established in Poznan, western Poland, about 20 years ago, Barka came to England five years ago. Since then it has helped more than 2,200 homeless Polish men and women off London's streets and elsewhere and re-connected with their families or into their drug and alcohol rehabilitation programmes in Poland.
The charity celebrated its fifth anniversary at a special event held at the Polish Cultural Centre (POSK) in Hammersmith. last month. Nearly 150 guests attended, including representatives from housing and homelessness charities across Europe and the UK, former street homeless, a representative of Lady Victoria Borwick, the new Deputy Mayor for London and the Polish Consul General.
Addressing the party, Mrs Ewa Sadowska, director of Barka UK said: "It was five years ago when we were contacted by London homelessness charity, the Simon Community, who asked us if we would come to London to help with the difficulties that many Poles were encountering as a result of ending up sleeping rough on the streets."
She said: "Thanks to the help of the Simon Community, who provided us with office space, and Housing Justice and the Polish Government, we were able to to come to London and start helping Polish people who had found themselves in very difficult situations".
Speaking on behalf of the Deputy Mayor of London, Philip Burke said: "Lady Borwick is profoundly grateful to Barka for the the work that you have done in supporting those in greatest need of of our care and attention and for helping people to re-connect with their families and into rehabilitation programmes, the streets are no place for anyone to have to sleep in the 21st century.
He went on to say that it is important for charitable organisations to work in partnership and not in silos and that Barka has led by example and has been working closely with many homeless agencies around London and the country to support those in greatest need."
For more information see: http://www.barkauk.org/
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