Go to the monastery

You can get to the tiny village of Monastery only by ferry. Three times a day he comes from a wasp - a small city in the Perm Territory. Over the past seven years, three dozen homeless old people have taken advantage of the crossing to settle in the private shelter of Hope Tolstikova

In Perm newspapers, the monastery shelter praised and scolded, called a positive example of social entrepreneurship and concentration camp for the elderly. Nadezhda Tolstikova herself considers these definitions absurd. She arranged a shelter to fight bad dreams.

"Family for the elderly"

The shelter is not in the monastery itself, but on the outskirts - in a clearing, surrounded by forests on all sides. There are only four houses - the owners live in one, in the other a man, in the third woman, and the fourth is intended for the most weak old people with a problem psyche. The Nadezhda Tolstikova, a fifty -year -old woman who was born in a monastery and lived here all her life, looks after all this economy.

Since 1996, she regularly took children from the orphanage for the summer. By that time, four sons were already growing in her, but Nadezhda really wanted a daughter-after all, this is a village, here you need to be able to milk a cow, washed, troublesome, and so on. Not sons to teach all this. At first, Nadezhda and her husband took one girl out of the orphanage, then another, then by all the rules they organized a foster family. In the end, six orphanages were added to four native children.

And seven years ago, Tolstikova first came to social protection with an unusual request-to officially issue an old disabled woman from the wasp for her, whose daughter worked a lot and could not fully take care of her mother. First, in social protection, they invited the hope to patronize the woman as part of the regional program “Family for the elderly”, but then they changed their minds - with a living daughter, it was not supposed to. Then Tolstikova took the old woman just like that, under personal responsibility.

But in social protection, Tolstikov was remembered and after a while they called themselves:

“They say:“ There is a woman, we must write out from psychiatry, but we don’t know where to put her, ”recalls Nadezhda. - She lay in psychiatry for six months. A paralyzed alcoholic, devoid of parental rights. But then I took her to me, and she has been living with us for seven years. She is lying, but we sit down, ride, taught how to eat, move, talk with a foot. ”

The shelter fence, its inhabitants adorned their own photos: Ivan Kozlov

So the shelter began to be formalized. Over time, old people without relatives began to appear in it, so Tolstikova still managed to join the program “Family for the Elderly”. According to this program, a person who has taken care of lonely old people is relied by help from the state. The money there is not God the news, but in this July hope receives it for the last time:

“They refused to pay my salary. They explained that they would terminate the contract with me, because formally I do not live with my old people. Their houses through the street, we live with one family, I follow them 24 hours a day - I remove the feces and urine, I bring everything to normal. I constantly communicate with everyone. But when they told me about the termination of the contract, I replied: “Good. I will work without a salary, but I won’t give my old men to you. ” Yes, and there is no strength to argue - there is still this story with slander ... "

"Pensioner Labor Camp"

Actually, because of the “story with slander” in Perm and learned about the shelter of Tolstikova, who had previously existed quietly and peacefully. But in March, the Osa scandal occurred in many city media. The hope received a complaint signed by several inhabitants of the shelter. The complainants claimed that they were forcibly holding helpless old men in the monastery, they treat them poorly, do not give documents and select pensions. The accusations were willingly picked up by many residents of the wasps, and in the group “The Board of the Satzor of the Osa” the real persecution began - Tolstikov was accused almost of creating a concentration camp for pensioners.

However, I managed to figure it out quickly. The complaint was signed by several inhabitants of the shelter, but most of the names were written with errors, and one signature belonged to a woman who was not capable of holding a pen due to paralysis.

I follow them 24 hours a day - I remove feces and urine, I bring everything to normal

“I had one granny from Perm, and I immediately realized that it was her daughter,” says Tolstikova. - There was such a story. At first, my grandmother came to us, and after some time her daughter appeared in the shelter, who once threw her mother and served in prison for fraud. She arrived and stated that she would live with us on the basis that her mother is receiving a pension. I did not let her in, of course. She says to me: “You will pay for it.” And for what? For the fact that I sheltered her mother? The old woman had an exhaustion of the body, she could not walk, she only drove her eyes. ”

Nevertheless, the daughter spent a week in the shelter - in her complaint, she indicated the names of those old people whom she managed to remember during this time. After the complaint was given, checks began, which have not ended for six months. The inspectors did not particularly ceremony and more than once brought Tolstikov to tears. And why should they stand on ceremony if there is no shelter on the papers. But there is some unofficial and suspicious pensioner commune in the forest.

Today this is the main problem for the mistress of the shelter and for his residents - to register officially very difficult. Of the thirty people (it was twenty -four in the spring, but after a hype with a complaint, six more came in a complaint) are four at hopes under guardianship, two under the patronage, and the rest are simply alien. Tolstikova prescribes them in a monastery in order to somehow fix it somehow.

The last time the aspen authorities demanded that it issue an individual entrepreneur, but this is an excessive requirement - you need to pay large taxes, and there is nothing to pay for them. Therefore, officials of different instances every now and then hint the hope that their commune will most likely simply disperse their commune.

“The authorities do not understand: if you put all of mine to Lenin Square right with beds - who will take them? We had an elderly house in the Osa, there was a nursing departure - everyone was closed. One I remained so sick on my head, and even in a neighboring village, the husband and wife of Imaykina, who are now also poisoned by checks. ”

Fiasco

Only a few people work in the shelter - the hope and its adoptive children who either come or leave. There are not enough workers, but the Tolstikov still prefer to cope on their own. They asked for help from the administration only once - we needed an excavator to dig a trench and lay the water supply. As a result, the trench had to dig on their own, shovels.

It would be logical to call for the help of volunteers from the wasp, but it somehow did not work out with public support either.

Younger adoptive children live with hope, the elders come on weekends and help to conduct business photos: Ivan Kozlov

“My acquaintance decided to write an announcement on the eighth of March, somewhere there on the Internet, I don’t understand,” says Nadezhda. -Well, on our own initiative to collect for us for a holiday some amount, just help. And this was our first fiasco. Because this began on the Internet ... She collected only some thousand rubles, and I was simply mixed with mud there. They showed me that people wrote there - I just roared, howled a wolf. They wrote in this group “Board of Shame” that I was taking money to myself, that I was tormented by the old people. I didn’t do anything bad to anyone. Our people are generally very angry. I come to some registry, I say that from the “family for the elderly”, and they say to me: “I grabbed the old people for myself!” Well, I don’t care, I will pass the fire and water, but I won’t give them anywhere. They are like children to me. "

In the end, the holiday was still held, but bypassed their own means. Well, this, of course, is strongly said - "with its own means." There is no extra money in the shelter. To provide her residents with new pillows and blankets, Tolstikova took a loan. Most of the credit money went to install new windows in return, because of which there was constantly drafts in the houses.

They wrote in this group the “Board of Shame” that I was taking money to myself, that I was tormented by the old people

Several these guests have not yet reached retirement age and live in a shelter just like that, helping the household. Most are pensioners and people with disabilities, many of them have helped Tolstikov to make lost documents and get a “group”. Those who have a disability allowance, by mutual agreement, give it to the hope - in the end, however, this money still goes to the development of the shelter. Otherwise, the rules for all: the residents of the shelter leave a quarter of the pensions for their own pocket expenses (on cigarettes and other trifles, for example), and most of them are put in a “common bank”-products, linen and hygiene products are purchased, and sometimes some small repairs are made.

“I will gather in the store, they make up the lists of what to buy. Women order cosmetics, paint every day. They were still furious before. They did not consider themselves people. And now how. I’m joking with them: “Are you lying - where can you paint? Even I don’t paint.” And in the morning they will bring such lips to themselves, wow. To them, you see, men go to visit, communicate. So, I was not in vain after them. Many were sick, all in lice. One grandfather of linen lice brought, I was so scared, now I have a law: to wash all the new ones, to shake, give pure linen. This grandfather, who was lousy, was amazed, asks: “Is that all to me?” Well, to whom? You still admit to yourself that you are a person. ”

Galina Ivanovna and her friend Lyuba Photo: Ivan Kozlov

Pensioners try to help their mother (they really call her that - mother) as they can. Iraida Gennadievna, for example, on her own initiative, planted bow and cucumbers behind the house. Then she put a jar of cucumbers and brought - a surprise! Everyone, of course, knew about this surprise perfectly, but pretended that they did not know. And Galina Ivanovna went fishing and brought fish. In July, there is no bite, so she recently announced to the hope that “the fish died”, so now, instead of fish, she would follow raspberries.

Support group

Nadezhda Tolstikova also has his own team of like -minded people. Small, but effective - a doctor and a policeman. More precisely, paramedic and district police officer. The paramedic Faina Mikhailovna visits the shelter two to three times a week, although she is not obliged to do this. She regularly examines the elderly, prescribes medications to them, makes injections and, if necessary, writes to the reception for specialists.

And the local district glory first appeared when Tolstikova asked him to investigate the incident with Valentina Petrovna. This elderly woman, unable to walk, was thrown out of the car near the ferry crossing, and she crawled along the shore in unconsciousness until the boaters noticed her. Tolstikova took her to her, and then turned to the district police officer.

An elderly woman who is unable to walk, someone threw out of the car near the ferry crossing

After a couple of days, Glory found Valentina Petrovna's granddaughter, but she disowned her grandmother. And a few months later, the grandmother's brother suddenly appeared in the monastery.

“It can be seen that the drinker,” recalls Tolstikova. - Valentina Petrovna was delighted to him, shouting: "Brother, brother." And what about the brother? Brother brought her an apple - he moved, he says, on the road. He said that he was running away to the store to buy something. And he did not return. "

Residents

To the last ferry there are two more hours - although he will still come to the Osa later than the last bus to Perm will go away, so what's the difference? I walk around the shelter - it turns out that in addition to the cows, several geese (very aggressive) and other living creatures are also held here.

The house, in which the most problematic old people live who are not able to take care of themselves, surpasses my expectations - here is clean and tidy, and the air is fresh. But for obvious reasons, it is not possible to start a conversation with anyone, and I am moving into a women's house.

Here I am met by Galina Ivanovna, who in July exchanged fish for raspberries. It seems that she is one of those who regularly orders from thick cosmetics.

The situation in the female building photo: Ivan Kozlov

Galina Ivanovna says that she worked with people all her life, and in her old age she wanted to live in solitude, after the death of her husband she accumulated money and bought a house in a small village near the monastery. But in less than six months, like a house that she did not even have time to insure, burned to the ground.

In the Osin administration, as soon as they found out about the fire, the first thing they called the same Tolstikova - they asked to get to the place and shelter Galina Ivanovna if she survived. Nadezhda discovered a burl from in the middle of the ashes. She was in shock, did not understand anything and refused to budge. While she was brought to life, a fire engine with one driver and without water drove up: there were February frosts, and all the water froze. After a couple of days, a note was published in the district newspaper about how the firefighters team arrived in a timely manner and in 15 minutes coped with the fire.

In less than six months, like a house that she did not even have time to insure, burned to the ground

But now these memories no longer cause Galina Ivanovna nothing but laughter.

- And I wanted to open a small branch of the hairdresser. Well, okay, I have something to do. I am typically urban, but I love fishing, I love summer, I love people in general.

- But I’ll take you to the square in front of the administration and leave you there, what then will you do? - Tolstikova shouts cheerfully, and all the inhabitants of the house are disassembled by laughter.

-Somewhere they are going to wave us all, what is it? We are already so used to each other. But in general, I do not mind that I would be taken to the administration to take a walk, ”Galina Ivanovna jokes.

“We will open the hairdresser there,” her best friend Lyubov Ozigin picks up, and everyone immediately pays attention to her.

Nadezhda Tolstikova surrounded by adopted children and wards, on the right - Iraid Gennadievna and Galina Borisovna Photo: Ivan Kozlov

“Do you know how she knit?” - Tolstikova tells me. - I'm just amazed. And he will cut itself excellent. But she’s blind.

Ozhegin was blinded for a long time - even before she was deceived with an apartment. She sold her Perm housing to some scammers who promised her the Golden Mountains, but for some reason limited themselves to a rotten hut near the wasps. In this house, she began to live with her guardian, but after a few months the guardian was put in prison, and love was left alone, blind, in a collapsing house. Through acquaintances, Tolstikova found out about her and issued custody.

"I will make up for it anyway, so that they will be happy in the next world and forgive me"

In the next room, I find Iraid Gennadievna - the very one who has grown a surprise jar of cucumbers. She does not like to remember her past life - she restrainedly says that she was beaten by her own son, and her daughter advised her to look for salvation in a monastery. Once, a woman secretly left the house and walked to wasps several tens of kilometers in the forest. In the shelter she went out and healed wounds on her feet. Her best friend here was Galina Borisovna, to save Tolstikova at one time the head of the settlement personally asked. Hope and Iraid then came to the house where Galina Borisovna lived with her sons, and found her lying on the soaked urine mattress, along which worms crawled. Sons at this time drank in another room. Since the woman was taken to the shelter, almost nothing was heard of his sons - it is only known that one of them died a year ago, and the other disappeared in tuberculosis dispensaries.

“I lost my mother because I could not understand what she was sick,” Nadezhda suddenly says when we leave the house. - Then it turned out that she had diabetes. She was fat, it was difficult to determine it. Or maybe I looked around, worked, studied myself. Already when my mother was gone, I was just re -reduced. I thought: “I’ll make up for it all the same, so that they will be happy in the next world and forgive me.” And now I don’t dream about my mother, and dad does not dream. ”