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Ayyadevara Kaleswara Rao Santosh Bhavan A night shelter and day care centre for children of all ages who are living on the streets with no other form of support. Santosh Bhavan is a three storey building in the centre of Vijayawada. It has facilities for 150 children to stay overnight and also provides food and basic education. The building houses the SKCV hospital which provides full medical care and advice, and there are vocational training workshops.
Social workers are employed to counsel the children and to provide professional out reach services. Where appropriate and safe, staff will work with them to enable them to return home as quickly as possible. Where this is not possible, children are able to stay at the shelter for several months and most are able to move over to the Prema Vihar Children’s Village. Support is given to those who have come into contact with the law, and SKCV works closely with the police to ensure that appropriate representation is provided. Children in trouble are often brought to the shelter by police officers.
The shelter has its own private garden with play equipment and other facilities for play and relaxation. The atmosphere is calm, loving and above all safe. When children arrive at the shelter for the first time, there first priority is often sleep; it can be many months since they last had somewhere safe to rest. Santosh Bhavan is open to all children in need, but only provides residential care for boys. Girls are looked after in their own centre, Bala Prema. Santosh Bhavan means place of happiness.
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The
night shelter is close to both the railway and bus stations, which are
key places for street children to congregate. Staff visit these centres
with food and offering further support. Children are never coerced to
attend the shelter, or any other SKCV Centre, most come because they have
heard about SKCV from other street children. They visit and then stay
voluntarily making their own choice and enrolling themselves in the School
if they wish. Those who want to return home are encouraged to do so. 