Zeroing in on homelessness

(From right): Khairin Nisa, Mohd Jafni and Ling discussing the action plan for the initiative at the multi-agency meeting held at Kota Iskandar.

THE Johor government has introduced the “Zero Homeless Person” initiative by providing a place to stay or healthcare services for the homeless.

State women, family and community development committee chairman Khairin Nisa Ismail said the initiatSSive, with coordination of various government agencies, started in January.

“The ‘Zero Homeless Person’ initiative is being coordinated by three state executive councillors with the help of the Johor Health Department, Welfare Department, Home Ministry, Immigration Department, National Anti-Drug Agency and Johor Baru City Council,” she said.

The other state executive councillors are health and unity committee chairman Ling Tian Soon and state housing and local government committee chairman Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor.

Khairin Nisa added that as at Feb 19, a total of 12 homeless people were rescued and placed at Anjung Singgah – a shelter for the homeless established by the Women, Family, and Community Development Ministry.

“Some of these include people working in Singapore but they would sleep on the sidewalk after returning from work. They would travel again to the republic in the morning to go to work.

“So, we are offering them a place to stay at Anjung Singgah with an RM100 rental a month,” she said, adding that there were also those who ran away from their families and opted for a homeless lifestyle.

“For such cases, we will offer them a job, and they can stay at Anjung Singgah for at least a month.

“Once they are independent and can manage themselves, we will help them look for a place to stay.

“There are also cases of drug addicts and those with mental health issues who will be handed over to the Johor Health Department because we do not want them to wander around the city without help,” she explained.

Khairin Nisa added that in cases of foreign homeless persons, they would be handed over to the Immigration Department to be processed.

Meanwhile, Ling said the initiative was introduced in July last year, with the action committee being finalised earlier this year.

“We have conducted more than 10 raids to rescue the homeless since July last year, but the approach was not coordinated.

“That is why we are starting this,” he explained.

“We have introduced this multi-agency initiative to streamline our efforts and eliminate the issue by finding its root cause.”

Ling went on to say that the state government would be using a humane approach in relocating the homeless.

“We want to improve Johor Baru’s image as it is the main doorway for international visitors.

“So besides the Clean Johor initiative, the ‘Zero Homeless Person’ programme is part of the Greater Johor Baru agenda,” he said.