DSWD program reaches out to homeless

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has a new program that will reach out to individuals living in the streets.

“Oplan Pag-Abot: Reaching out, Rebuilding lives” targets people living on the street and facing hardships to bring them “hope and a new lease on life.”

The program is one of the latest initiatives of the agency to “reach out to children and families, including indigenous peoples, staying or living on the streets,” according to Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian.

Under the program, the DSWD will provide these people with the “necessary interventions” such as livelihood opportunities and shelter assistance to “help them live a safer, sustainable and productive life.”

The family of Alvin Ando Baguio is one those who have been reached by the Pag-Abot project and they are currently being provided with various interventions.

Baguio, 48, left his hometown Ordova, Cebu in search of better opportunities in Metro Manila. He found a job but his income failed to sustain a house that he and his family were renting.

In 2019, the family was left with no choice but to build a makeshift house on a vacant lot along Seaside Diokno in Macapagal Avenue.

The family crossed paths with Pag-Abot social workers who helped them avail of the Balik Probinsiya Bagong Pag-asa program, a component of the project.

Because of this, the family was able to return to their hometown in Cebu.