Inmates of children’s homes are compelled to leave the children’s home and land on the street level when they become adults. There is no state program anymore, in accordance with which these children can be given apartments. Today Anahit Bakhshyan, a National Assembly member, and Edik Baghdasaryan, the editor-in-chief of “Hetq”, organized a press conference at “Hayeli” (mirror) club to discuss this issue.
In Anahit Bakhshyan’s words, the social projects are just written in our country, but there is no real support and consultation, “Filaret Berikyan, the Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, and Lala Ghazaryan, the head of the Department on Family, Women and Children issues of the same ministry, just ruin all the projects related to the inmates of children’s homes.”
Edik Baghdasaryan, the editor of “Hetq”, said that large amount of money was appropriated through the project of apartment construction for inmates of children’s homes, “Nobody was punished and the money wasn’t returned. 2 years ago that project was suspended, there is no clear answer why that project was suspended, as the money for the project was not given from the budget, but from the financial means of the European Union.”
Read also
Because of all this, according to the spokesmen, the inmates of “Zatik” children’s home were left unattended. “This is called unloading the children’s homes. Now 210 inmates should get an apartment”, explained Anahit Bakhchyan. She added that they should propose a bill that the age limit for staying in the children’s home was raised from 18 to 20 or 23, during that period a young man can find himself and then leave the children’s home.
The inmates of “Zatik” children’s home, present at the press conference, wrote a letter to President of the Republic of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan yesterday and asked for finding a solution to their issue. Let us mention that none of these children is idle – they study, do various jobs to exist, but they don’t have a place to live.
23-year-old Hayk Simonyan should have got an apartment in Zeytun neighborhood, but before registering the apartment, he was recruited, “I let a girl who had a child and was pregnant again replace me. I let her replace me on the condition that I will return from the army and get an apartment. I came back, they said they would give me an apartment next year. It has been that way for 3-4 years already, I am waiting and compelled to live in a dormitory. I exist with the support of my neighbors, but till when can I stay at their expense?” He is an auto mechanic, but cannot find a regular job, “I was prepared to be a cleaner.”
22-year-old Sargis Kirakosyan doesn’t have a regular job, he lives at his friend’s home.
After the military service, Rafik Khanjyan has decided that he should have a profession, “The director of the children’s home let me stay, prepare and be admitted. This year I was admitted and I should have left already. I am registered to get an apartment, they said that the project had been suspended.”
Arsen Mkrtchyan works at a bakery, he studies at the Engineering University, but he is homeless.
The Press Agency of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs said in regard to the accusations directed at them that they would answer after the holidays, next year.
Anush KHECHOYAN
