🏠 Shelter for Urban Homeless in Surat – Complete Guide
Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC), under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY‑NULM), runs the Shelter for Urban Homeless (SUH) program. This initiative provides safe, 24×7 accommodation and essential services to the city’s homeless population—helping them transition toward dignified lives. reddit.com+15deshgujarat.com+15horizons.tatatrusts.org+15
✅ What Is SUH?
Under SUH, SMC establishes permanent, well-equipped shelters called Rain Basera, operating year-round to offer:
- Dormitory and family rooms
- Secure lodging with mattresses, blankets, lockers
- Clean toilets, bathing facilities, filtered drinking water
- Cooking and dining areas
- Childcare support via Anganwadi links
- Basic first-aid, fire safety, and hygienic surroundings
- Access to health, education, livelihood schemes deshgujarat.com+4deshgujarat.com+4reddit.com+4
📍 Surat’s Shelter Network
- 4 big model shelters currently active, located at:
- Althan (384 beds)
- Bhestan (528 beds)
- SMIMER/Umarwada (157 beds)
- Rander (380 beds) reddit.com+2news18.com+2timesofindia.indiatimes.com+2
- Katargam shelter: Launched in June 2023, featuring 156 beds, cooking facilities, and water supply en.wikipedia.org+2english.loktej.com+2deshgujarat.com+2
- Varachha Zone Shelter: Established in Aug 2022 at Dumbhal, offering 500 beds, family rooms, solar geysers, and laundry facilities
SMC aims to scale up to 15 shelters (under flyovers and other locations) to meet criteria of at least 1 shelter per 100,000 residents.
🤝 Support & Rehabilitation Services
At these shelters, residents receive:
- Two meals daily and clean living spaces
- Laundry, lockers, and childcare amenities
- Healthcare support—especially for elderly, pregnant women, and differently-abled persons timesofindia.indiatimes.com+15news18.com+15gujaratgramvikas.org+15reddit.com
- Educational access, skill-building workshops (e.g., bag making, paper crafts)
- Help with official documentation (Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards) and linkages to welfare programs news18.com
🕒 Why It Matters
- Over 10,000 individuals benefit daily across Gujarat from 116 Rain Basera shelters in 38 cities, including Surat deshgujarat.com+1reddit.com+1
- Surat’s shelters are transforming lives—many residents regain employment and housing post-stay
- Aligns with Supreme Court guidelines and SuH targets: one shelter per lakh residents, operational all year english.loktej.com+5suratmunicipal.gov.in+5timesofindia.indiatimes.com+5
🔎 How to Access a Shelter
- Walk-in registration at any Rain Basera or SUH center
- Homeless individuals can stay as needed, free of charge
- Managed by NGOs in partnership with SMC under DAY‑NULM
📌 Suggested Website Integration
- Use pastel-colored info-boxes to showcase shelter locations and capacities
- Include testimonials or success stories (e.g., employment after shelter stay)
- Embed FAQ sections: “Who can stay?”, “How to enroll?”, “What services are offered?”
- Add Maps/Listings of each shelter facility
- Optionally offer a Gujarati version, PDF download, or story-focused narrative block