Homes for Homeless Families in Guatemala

The girl is 18 years old. She was originally from San Lorenzo el Cubo Ciudad Vieja. She comes from a totally dysfunctional family, the Father is an alcoholic, the mother is a prostitute, and she is also an alcoholic and drug addict. She and her brothers stayed out of the house, without food or hope in their home; one day, they heard from a place that served food to homeless people, so they went in search of it, finding the shelter Santa Madre of Asociación Nuestros Ahijados, where, for some years, this family has been given shelter and food. The young woman was the smallest of the family, they have left the house and continued in different places their own life and family, while Dominga, is a single mother of a child.

This year, the lady has been told the consequences of alcoholism and drug addiction and has been reminded how much she and her brothers suffered in the street, and if she wanted to make the same decisions as her mother; now she is dedicated to work doing domestic duties or being a sales clerk in the market. Now, she is also provided with help at the Mothers Club, so she can have food and help herself for a few days. She has stopped living with her parents and rents a small room by her means, with which she lives with her little child, when she does not have dinner, she attends the Shelter, and she and the little boy are helped with clothes and shoes in the project.

This is the story of Mrs. Adriana who is 70 years old, as she thinks since she has been wandering in the streets for a long time and does not have any documents or memory of her real age.  She is a lonely person, doesn’t have a husband, any sons or daughters or a family that cares for her.  While she was wandering she never had the chance of clean up or even worst she didn’t take care of herself.  She had psychiatric problems, sometimes she insulted the people who talked to her.

Every night she came to our Santa Madre Homeless Shelter, where she was warmly welcomed with food, clothes and a dignify place to stay over the night. While she was staying there she never acted violent or insulted the other women or staff but she was all the time away from people.

In one opportunity, she mentioned that she did have children but they abandoned her and that she had a bad life while she was living with her husband.  She said that they left her taking away everything she had.  She never mentioned how it happened but she did mention that her life was hard since little and decided to not fight for her life.  As time was passing by, her mental problems were increasing, sometimes she cursed people or she attacked herself.

When Asociación Nuestros Ahijados realized of her mental problems immediately gave her the psychological aid giving her the treatment to prevent the self harm she was doing and to help with to prevent anger toward others.  In coordination with the Mental Health Hospital in Guatemala the project referred her to them, where she was immediately admitted.  The project’s psychologist is always visiting her and giving the follow up to support her and to provide the medication for her treatment.

In the past years, the Santa Madre Homeless Shelter has received thousands of people from all over the country and Central America, and we are always caring for each of them, more in cases like this with Mrs. Adriana.  While she was staying with us, as all the other people, she received a special and dignified treatment to make them feel special and valued.