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The New Laundry of The Hungarian Maltese Charity Service for the employment of Homeless People
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On April 4, 2008, the Hungarian Maltese Charity Service has launched a homeless laundry in Budapest as a pilot project. This pilot project is a fortunate encounter of long-existing public demands, the Hungarian Maltese Charity Service’s will to act, and the aids provided by the Treasury Property Directorate, the Public Foundation for the Homeless, the National Employment Public Foundation, and Reckitt Benckiser Ltd.
The Hungarian Maltese Charity Service is available for the help of the neediest on as much as 350 sites of the country. In some places its volunteers as well as the employees of its institutions help individuals, for whom the cleaning of clothes is problematic – due to their bad health or financial status.
The collection of clothes and their donation by the Hungarian Maltese Charity Service is almost as old as the organisation itself, thus such a charitable activity is being done for nearly 20 years. In 2007 nearly as much as 80 thousand people received clothing donations worth over 265 million HUF. Social activity with respect to the collection of clothes donations is always very intensive, and so it is happening now, within the frameworks of the current program bearing the name: ”Spotless Donation” of the Hungarian Maltese Charity Service.
The laundry building providing employment for the homeless persons was acquired through tendering from the Public Foundation for the Homeless. The building that was not in use before was given to the Public Foundation for the Homeless by the Treasury Property Directorate. The National Employment Public Foundation supported the Maltese project with 26 million 649 thousand HUF. This support includes the costs of renovation, the building’s equipment with the necessary professional machines and the salary of the employees for one year. The Charity Service has taken on an obligation to extend the duration of employment, and since it has long-term plans regarding the project, it will also raise the resources necessary for operation himself.
Within the frameworks of this pilot project, 10 homeless individuals are being employed initially. The primary goal of their employment is promote their reintegration into the labour market. The tendering program was started in October 2007, and will end in February 2010. The 10 employees were selected out of 50 applicants, who first had to go through a short training, followed by – aside from their work in the laundry – their preparation for the acquisition of the necessary attitudes to work with the help of a mentor.
The highest washing capacity of the laundry is nearly 100 kg per day. The Charity Service will serve the needs primarily of its own institutions – social homes, old people’s homes, etc -. Secondarily it will clean clothing donations coming in to the Charity Service. The remaining capacity will be offered for companies ordering this service.
The clothes are washed, dried, ironed, or mangled. The latter method can be used primarily in case of bed-linen, or blankets. Clothes that cannot be mangled are ironed by hand. The laundry has two smaller and one larger capacity washing machines, including dryers. The market-leading Miele washing machines with the latest technology facilitate the operation of the industrial-sized laundry.
The company Reckitt Benckiser Kft., producer and owner of the
Vanish brand, offered its aid to the Charitable Service in the most suitable time: The company has supported the laundry
with an amount of 5 million HUF, and moreover it also contributes to the operation of the laundry with the donation of various washing and cleaning detergents. Within the frameworks of their mutual program, called:
„Spotless Donation” clothing donations are being collected for the needy at
40 sites of the country, and are afterwards carefully selected and cleaned. The clothes are finally distributed across the country by the clothing distribution service of the Hungarian Maltese Charity Service that has been operating for years.
A longer-term goal of the Charitable Service is to multiply this pilot project.
