According to the Govt. of Karnataka statistics, the State has an estimated 69 lakhs people who do not have houses.. The Supreme Court, in its order dated January 27, 2010, notified that one shelter for homeless persons must be created for every one lakh population. However, the government and urban residents ignore people who sleep and live on footpaths, under bridges, fly overs, in parks, in bus and railway stations and other public places. SC also mandates that in all towns/cities with a population of over five lakh, the local government must provide shelters for the homeless. Nine towns in Karnataka are in this category, but only Mysore and Bellary reported to have one.

 

Our experience through street presence reveals that thousands of people reside on the pavements of Bangalore city without having even bare minimum facilities. Often they are victims of multiple deprivations and exploitations. Accordingly, DIN in association with Impact India (a consortium of seven NGOs) has initiated an intervention among the homeless in Bangalore city with an aim to rehabilitate the destitute people who are willing to move to rehabilitation centres where they are provided a safe, protective and caring environment. Six shelters are already functioning across the city catering to several destitute men and women.

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​As part of the on-going efforts to tackle the issue of urban homelessness Dream India Network and with its 6 partners created a platform and a network called Impact India Consortium. This is an advocacy group mainly concentrating on urban homeless issues. We have made lot of surveys on the urban Homeless situation and are working closely with BBMP and other local government bodies. Currently we are starting many open shelters for the homeless with BBMP and funding agencies and have a separate office with 12 staff members operating the shelters, hand holding the homeless in each zone with the volunteers and identifying new shelters. A rescue Van is available 24/7 for the rehabilitation and support of the   destitute and homeless. Dream India acts as the secretariat and financial partner for Impact India for now.