An old Chow Kit hotel will be remodelled next year to house the homeless afflicted with HIV and mental illness.
Kuala Lumpur mayor Ahmad Phesal Talib had recently announcement that the shelter would provide sleeping cabins for the homeless while the ground floor would be a health centre.
The New Straits Times reports that both City Hall and the Welfare Department have yet to determine how long the occupants would be allowed to stay at the new centre.
National Welfare Foundation chief executive officer Rafek Reshidullah was quoted as saying that such a shelter would help to keep the unemployed out of the streets.
“This new centre will be different from Anjung Singgah which acts as an intervention centre for the productive homeless. Those who come to Anjung Singgah come voluntarily and are willing to change,” he was quoted as saying.
“Thus, we provide them with temporary shelter (at Anjung Singgah) for up to two weeks to prepare them for an independent life,” he said.
