SHANGHAI - As the cold sets in with the arrival of winter, local civil affairs authorities in Shanghai are reaching out to the city's homeless population.

The Shanghai civil affairs bureau has announced that temporary shelters will be provided for the city's homeless until the spring.

Hot food, bathing facilities and other services will be available at the shelters 24 hours a day. Each of them is also equipped with 40 to 50 beds.

"As the temperature continues to drop over coming days, more resources and materials will be provided to those left homeless over the winter," said Ren Zhiyue, an official of the bureau's social welfare division.

"In the shelters, they can have a warm meal and a warm place to stay, instead of shivering in the cold on the streets."

The shelters, which are located at the city's 21 social assistance centers for the homeless, assist 30,000 people each year, according to the bureau.

Their services vary, depending upon people's needs, Ren said. A special education and protection center will be available for the young, while the elderly and disabled can receive care assistance.

Entertainment activities will also be organized for the holidays, so they do not feel lonely.

Despite all the efforts to provide for the homeless, there are many who refuse to take refuge in a shelter.

"Some of them prefer to live outside. They wander about the street as they please," a volunteer said. It is difficult for them to live in a shelter after being on the margins of society for so long.

For those who refuse to go to shelters, local civil affairs departments will provide quilts, blankets, coats and other materials to help protect them from the cold, officials said.

Up until 2003, the homeless were detained and returned to their hometowns. The government then issued a policy requiring local governments to establish social assistance centers for them.

Over the winter, an emergency rescue team will keep an eye out for the homeless, regularly patrolling at train stations, beneath underpasses and bridges, as well as in culverts.

Police stations and urban management units will also be on hand to provide timely and effective relief work.

The bureau is hoping to recruit more volunteers to assist the homeless.

China Daily