GEORGE TOWN, June 16 — Every day after completing his shift as a security guard, Osman Abdullah makes his way to town in hopes of getting a bed at Anjung Singgah, a temporary shelter for the homeless.
If he is lucky, he will get a place to sleep for the night.
Some days, when he could not snag a bed, the 49-year-old spent the night on the streets.
“I’ve been living like this for the past few years after my family abandoned me when I converted to Islam,” Osman said.
He is glad that a new homeless transit centre near the city centre is opening in August.
“I hope I can get a bed to stay here while I look for an affordable place to rent,” he said.
He said his income of RM1,200 per month left him with few choices of places to rent as most places in the city required deposits and high rentals.
“I can’t stay outside of the city as my work is near the city and I don’t have transport to travel far,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rosmah Abdullah, 56, said the centre is a good place for those who do not have a place to stay.
She said she had trouble finding a place to stay too and is now sharing her friend’s small room.
The odd job worker from Kuching came to Penang three years ago and could barely eke out a living.
The new RM4.4 million triple net zero homeless transit centre, which is fully funded by the state government and built by the Penang Island City Council, will open its doors on August 1.
Located near the Komtar vicinity, along Magazine Road, the centre also doubles as a designated distribution centre and intervention centre to retrain and equip the homeless people with skills to survive on their own.
According to state exco Phee Boon Poh, there are about 72 homeless people staying around the Komtar vicinity while there are more all around the state.
The idea for the homeless transit centre was mooted to get the homeless people off the streets and empower them to finally get jobs and rent places of their own at government public housing projects.
The project was officially launched today by Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
“This centre will be fully managed by the Penang Welfare Department,” he said at the opening ceremony today.
He said those who were accepted to stay at the centre can only stay for a maximum 14 days pending further investigations by the welfare department.
“There will be training and job opportunities for the residents so that they can reintegrate into society,” he said.
“This is under the state’s Empowering The Street Citizen programme where they are provided basic amenities in this centre while they are provided with training according to their interests,” he added.
The three-storey building, covering 1,370 square metres, has 60 beds for men and 18 for women with additional space for up to 100 people at any one time.
Equipped with a rooftop urban farm, community space, a self-service laundromat, an open rooftop recreational space, the building is also a triple net zero building that uses a rainwater harvesting system and solar power for electricity.
