Save a homeless person from the southern winter

In the Aysén region in southern Chile, there have been minimum temperatures of minus-eleven degrees Celsius! And a maximum of just two degrees above zero. This region is known as the "land of the brave," as the local bishop, Luis Infanti, calls it. There, some 135 people live on the streets. They do so 365 days a year, rain, snow, or shine, without any special emergency measures provided by the State.

Leonardo, head of social operations at Hogar de Cristo in the region, went out a couple of nights ago with a group of Telsur workers to walk the streets. It's an activity that is part of "corporate volunteering."

It was snowing heavily, and the cold was biting. At seven in the evening, right on the bridge that connects Coyhaique with Puerto Aysén, we met Sergio, a man with extensive experience living on the streets. His testimony moved everyone. The obvious question they asked him was how they could help him. Sergio, with complete clarity, told them: “Help me find a house. I have a rental subsidy, and I've been looking for one for a long time without finding one.”

Leonardo explains that Sergio is someone who doesn't adhere to the usual arrangements, such as boarding houses or shelters.

It's clear that he doesn't feel comfortable there, that he needs a different solution. The ideal would be a single-person home, where he could live his life independently. It was an interesting encounter, because there were other people asking for socks or dry clothes, because they were all wet. Sergio didn't. He understands that escaping homelessness requires much more than a pair of dry socks.

The impact of your solidarity allows us, as Hogar de Cristo, to reach places as remote and frozen as the Aysén region, this "Land of the Brave." Thank you again!