The head of the Moscow Nochlezhka said that the Begovaya district administration promised to hinder the work of the project

The head of the Begovoi district administration, Alexander Mizgar, promised to “put a spoke in the wheels” of the homeless charity Nochlezhka, said the head of the Moscow branch Daria Baibakova. In a conversation with Takiye Dela, Baibakova emphasized that she still hopes for cooperation with the district authorities.

According to Baibakova, the meeting with Alexander Mizgar was initiated by the management of Nochlezhka - it took place on February 17.

“He stated that, for his part, he would draw the attention of all inspection authorities, including the Ministry of Emergency Situations and Rospotrebnadzor, to the fact that there are residents who are against the opening of the shelter, and will ask the authorities to act in the interests of these residents,” Baibakova said. “He repeated several times that his main task is to protect the comfort of those residents who are against it, and for this he will make every effort. Although there were no direct threats, promises implying the closure of our project are a rather unpleasant story.”

The head of the branch noted that the activists independently applied to the mentioned supervisory agencies and received all the necessary permits to work.

Baibakova claims that she met with the head of the council even before the lease agreement for the shelter premises appeared. According to her, then Mizgar praised the activists for choosing the right building away from residential buildings, promised to help disseminate information about the shelter after the opening, and also did not advise discussing the project with residents, suggesting that some of them would oppose it.

“I understand that the head of the council is now experiencing serious pressure from opponents of the shelter, including municipal deputy Zoya Andrianova - there are few of them, but they are quite active. On the other hand, I don’t understand why the head of the council does not hear the residents of the area who support our project. The feeling is that he does not consider them real people whose opinions should be taken into account,” said the head of the Moscow Nochlezhka.

She emphasized that she still hopes to cooperate with the district administration, because they have a common goal: the fewer homeless people on the streets, the more comfortable and calm the district residents will be. Baibakova also said that renovations at the future shelter are going according to plan, and the opening is scheduled for the end of March.

“Such Things” turned to Alexander Mizgar for comment. The Begovaya district administration said that if the Nochlezhka shelter starts operating, then “the comfort of living in the area as a whole, especially for residents of nearby houses, as well as employees of numerous offices, will be significantly reduced.”

“Given the social significance of this project for a certain category of residents of the capital, we must not forget that in the immediate vicinity of the proposed opening of the shelter there are currently educational, healthcare and residential buildings. There is growing confidence that if Nochlezhka is located in the district, most residents of the district will immediately have questions about the sanitary and epidemiological situation and the crime situation,” the council believes. They added that Rospotrebnadzor and the Ministry of Emergency Situations are “independent organizations that carry out their activities within the framework of the law.”

Renovations to the premises of the future Nochlezhka rehabilitation shelter and consultation service began in early December 2019. Nochlezhka announced the opening of a rehabilitation shelter in Moscow at the end of November.

Municipal deputy of the Begovaya district Zoya Andrianova sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a request to check Nochlezhka for signs of a foreign agent. Her initiative was supported on Facebook by the municipal deputy of the Lefortovo district, Alexandra Andreeva: “All possible methods of struggle must be used against the enemy. <…> If “Nochlezhka” is closed as a result, it will be a good lesson for her.”

The head of the organization, Grigory Sverdlin , told Taki Dela that Nochlezhka was never involved in politics, and confirmed the presence of financial assistance from abroad, which the management never hid. He also recalled that the organization has already been checked many times for compliance with Russian legislation, and financial reports have been published on the website.