In Chelyabinsk, a woman who lived her whole life on the street received her first passport at the age of 43

Chelyabinsk resident Elena lived without a passport all her life and received one for the first time at the age of 43 – just the other day. Elena, who lived on the street for a long time, was helped at the “Other Medicine” clinic for the homeless and needy. A friend brought Lena to the clinic with a burn on her hip. The woman fell asleep on a heating pipe, and when she woke up, her leg was seriously injured. The founder of “Other Medicine” Evgeny Kosovskikh recalls: the burn was severe – “to the point of meat”, intoxication began, an ambulance was called.

“She was bandaged and released, because it turned out that she had neither a passport nor an insurance policy,” Evgeniy Kosovskikh explains to Good News. “We called the Ministry of Health, agreed, and then called an ambulance again. She was taken to the Regional Burn Center, admitted to intensive care, and operated on. They washed me there and gave me a haircut, for which I also thank you.

While Elena was in the hospital, specialists from Other Medicine contacted the migration service. There they got down to business thoroughly: they looked up all the archives, found out that Elena had a birth certificate, then began to establish her identity. To do this, we came to the hospital and talked with Lena, came to “Other Medicine” and interviewed the staff, sent requests to the departments of other municipalities in the region so that they would confirm: she was born here, studied here. Then we met Lena’s sister – the homeless woman has several older sisters, and one of them managed to get off the street and get a job, and is now trying to help her family.

As a result, during the time that the patient was being treated at the Burn Center, she received the first passport in her life. Migration service employees solemnly presented Elena with the document right at her discharge on Tuesday.

“She had already forgotten which hand she was writing with – she ended up signing with her left hand,” says Evgeniy Kosovskikh.

Elena lives in a temporary apartment for several days. Her friend, who brought her to Other Medicine, came to the clinic to buy bandages for dressings. Evgeniy asked him to bring Lena in a couple of days to check everything himself – he would pay for a taxi, as long as they brought her. Now the woman urgently needs to obtain a temporary registration, insurance policy and SNILS. The employees of “Other Medicine” really hope for the “Warm Help” foundation, which is engaged in processing documents for the homeless, as well as for the help of concerned citizens.

— Perhaps one of the employees of the Social Fund of Russia is ready to help and personally deal with this issue. Just as they helped us with a passport – for this we are very grateful to the Migration Service of Chelyabinsk. “I am sure that in any department or government institution there is always at least one caring person who will help you,” says Evgeniy Kosovskikh.

The doctor notes: Elena needs help from a psychologist. The woman lived on the street for a very long time, and now it is difficult for her to be in a limited space, she is eager to go outside and does not even understand that she needs to live in an apartment for some time to properly care for her sore leg and to complete paperwork. Even if Elena decides to return to the street where she lives with a friend, it is still advisable for her to have a passport and an insurance policy so that the hospital can provide her with free help. Evgeny is worried about this and even talked with Lena’s “civilian mother-in-law” – the mother of that same friend. She, along with the “Other Medicine” volunteers, carried hotels to the Burn Center, and then transferred money for bandages, which the clinic spent on dressings for Elena, in order to somehow help and thank her. Evgeniy believes that it is, of course, difficult for such “Mowgli’s children” to return to civilized life. But it is very important that in this life they still have people who are ready to accept and help them.

Photo: “Other Medicine”