Shelter and housing is taken for granted for most of us. And when we speak of lockdown we generally think of it as an isolation within our own very comfortable four walls. But what about our fellow humans who are not fortunate enough to have a place of their own, who don’t have this very basic need covered? How does the pandemic beat down on their already unimaginably harsh reality?

Going through a second and third lockdown, it is worth remembering that there are others less fortunate than us - regardless of our own very real challenges. For this reason, we have invited Steps, a non-profit initiative that deals with street connected people in Athens. They take action through street embrace, housing, legal aid and the feeling of belonging in order to support people that experience social exclusion.

Only a few days ago STEPS have been awarded the Civil Solidarity Prize from the European Economic and Social Committee for initiatives showing outstanding solidarity during the covid-19 pandemic! Well deserved STEPS, congratulations!

But for them to continue their invaluable work they need our support. So please support them in any way that you can: with a donation, as a volunteer or by simply spreading the word. You will find all their relevant links in the show notes below.

Or how Katerina, one of the members we were fortunate enough to speak to, puts it:
"When you relate, you begin to care and when you care, you take action."
So with this episode today we hope that it will be easier to relate to the many people without shelter during this critical time.

Thank you all.

SHOW NOTES

Website: https://steps.org.gr/en/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StepsGreece/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stepsgreece/

Support the show [https://www.buymeacoffee.com/yellowvan]

Yellow Van Stories is a Mind the Bump [https://www.mindthebump.de] Production.

00:00:00 Introduction to Yellow Van Stories
00:00:38 Bastian welcomes listeners to a special episode
00:01:14 Exploring marginalized communities
00:01:30 Journey to Greece and STEPS initiative
00:02:41 Challenges faced by homeless in Greece
00:03:14 Insights from NGO workers and coordinators
00:05:25 Experiences of Costa, a beneficiary
00:08:10 Understanding 'street-connected' and pandemic impact
00:33:30 Medical support for street-connected people
00:50:29 Overlapping identities in marginalized communities
01:00:29 Legal assistance for street-connected individuals
01:10:35 Personal growth through working with STEPS
01:28:02 How to support STEPS initiatives
01:38:29 Closing message on empathy and unity