노숙인 곁에서 15년..서울역 13번 출구서 사라진다 / SBS 8뉴스

Anchor A private shelter that served as a refuge for the homeless in front of Seoul Station is set to close its doors in three months. Although it has served as a sanctuary to escape heatwaves and cold snaps for 15 years, it has become unable to afford the skyrocketing rent. Reporter Yoo Su-hwan reports. Reporter In front of Exit 13 of Seoul Station. Unlike the weather outside, which is approaching 31 degrees Celsius, a cool breeze flows here during the summer. With air conditioners and fans running ceaselessly, and equipped with cool and hot water and 16 computers, this is 'Dream City,' a private homeless shelter located right in front of Seoul Station. Since opening in 2011, it has served as a sanctuary for the past 15 years, providing refuge from sweltering heat and torrential rain in the summer, and biting cold and heavy snowfall in the winter. With 300 to 400 people visiting daily, and the Seoul City free soup kitchen 'Warm Filling Center' located just a minute away, it is difficult to find an empty seat before and after meal times. [Shelter User (4th year): The soup kitchen is right next door. We wait here until we get our meal, and after eating, we can stay until 7 PM on weekdays.] This shelter, which provided luggage storage, mobile phone charging, free haircuts, and even medical support, will close its doors this coming October. This is because the building owner, who had not raised the rent for the past few years despite surrounding market rates, has stated that he can no longer rent the space at the same price. For the homeless, this means losing not only a space to escape the heatwaves and heavy rain, but also the community where they could share conversations, even if only briefly. [Kim Ki-yong / Shelter User (8th month): It must be a huge shock, especially for the elderly men and women. When we stay here, they give us rice (from the Seoul City soup kitchen), and bread in the morning.] "I don't know what will happen once I move out of here." Pastor Woo Yeon-sik, who ran a private shelter, plans to move to Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, to create a new space for elderly people living alone. The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced that it plans to advance the opening hours of free meal centers by one hour to prepare for potential complaints arising from homeless people flocking to these locations following the closure of the Seoul Station shelter. (Video Coverage: Lee Sang-hak, Video Editing: Yoon Tae-ho) #SBSNews #News #Realtime Copyright Ⓒ SBS. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution, and use for AI learning are prohibited.