Second home in Kankavli set to open next month
PANAJI
Street Providence Goa, after successfully launching operations in Jharkhand and Manipur, is now expanding to Maharashtra. The Goa-based NGO is opening two homes for men and women with mental disabilities in Sawantwadi and Kankavli, under the banner of Street Providence Maharashtra.
The first centre in Sawantwadi, which can house 12 women, became operational last month. The second home for men in Kankavli is set to open next month, according to officials from Street Providence.
The Sawantwadi home was blessed by Bishop Allwyn Barreto of Sindhudurg, with Maharashtra ministers Deepak Kesarkar and Ravindra Chavan attending the inauguration. Crispin Sequeira was a special guest at the event.
“Over the past few months, we’ve only been accepting Goans – either homeless or those with mental disabilities – into our 11 homes in Goa. This is why we felt the need to establish similar homes for people with mental disabilities and the homeless in other states,” said Donald Fernandes, founder of Street Providence.
“In Goa, we will continue focusing solely on Goans in our homes, providing them with rehabilitation and care,” he added.
Street Providence was the first NGO in Goa to open homes for the homeless, beggars, and Goans with mental disabilities. They now run 11 homes across the state.
“We are the only NGO from Goa to open homes in Maharashtra and Jharkhand for those living on Goa’s streets who need to return to their home states. Our aim is to rehabilitate the poor, homeless, and those with mental disabilities in their respective states by opening homes for men and women,” said Fernandes.
Explaining the need for Street Providence Maharashtra, Donald said, “Many homeless people on Goa’s streets are from other states, including Maharashtra. We can’t rehabilitate non-Goans long-term, so the best solution is to repatriate them back to their families. This is why we are opening homes in different states.”
He highlighted that many non-Goans in Goa’s institutions like IPHB, GMC, district hospitals, and even in jail, need to return home after discharge but often remain in Goa due to shame or lack of motivation, ultimately ending up on the streets.
“Once discharged, they return to the streets, starting the same cycle until they are picked up by the police again. Many develop mental disabilities during this time, and the police often admit them to IPHB or government hospitals. It’s a waste of government resources, and they may end up dying on the streets, unclaimed,” he explained.
Regarding the Maharashtra project, Donald noted that Sindhudurg district lacks psychiatric care facilities like those in Goa. Many poor people there suffer from mental disabilities and need rehabilitation. “We plan to use these homes to provide care for these people, preventing them from being abandoned or left without help,” he said.
