Disaster Response Chile Project #64922

The Southernmost Winter, Chile

by Fundacion de Beneficencia Hogar de Cristo

Project Report | Feb 27, 2025
Dying of cold and on the street in Punta Arenas

By Juan Pablo Hurtado | Juan Pablo Hurtado

Last winter, Manuel (67 years old) died – as no one should die. At night, alone, in the street, with the thermometer reading below zero in the white and frozen Punta Arenas, which will continue to be hit by unprecedented storms of snow and wind. His lifeless body was found inside an ATM in Plaza Muñoz Gamero, in the heart of the city.

He was a regular participant in the Hogar de Cristo Hospice, with intervals marked by intensive alcohol consumption, which is common to the majority of the 167 homeless people counted in the region. Here, it is much more alcohol than other drugs that deteriorates this group of men and women.

With the Hospedería del Hogar de Cristo and the shelters in Natales and Punta Arenas full, the Hogar de Cristo goes out on the street routes every day, handing out lunch and snacks. This allows them to be attentive to the health of the people and their needs. They go out rain, snow or shine, which in the region and, these days, is part of life in a particularly harsh winter.

Your help allows homeless people in the southernmost part of the world to survive the extreme cold in a safe shelter. Thank you very much!

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Saving lives in Magallanes

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Oct 28, 2024
We are operating at overcapacity due to the cold

By Juan Pablo Hurtado | Project Leader

Through overcapacity, the Hogar de Cristo Hospice seeks to provide shelter to those living on the streets in the midst of a winter that has been felt with force, and the burning cold and the snow put those who do not have a home in a difficult situation. In Magallanes, it is estimated that there are around 200 people living in this condition, 35 of them are women.

Alvaro Rondón, head of Social Operations at Hogar de Cristo, highlighted that during the entire winter period they have worked at maximum capacity, with 40 users each night, but some days they have had to work with overcapacity. “Especially during that period that was more extreme, with lower temperatures and snow, we received people with overcapacity and extended hours so that the reception would be greater, considering that we serve from 6 in the afternoon until 8 in the morning, since the winter conditions forced us to be a little more flexible.”

She adds that the Ruta Protege program has not stopped working for a single day, aware that there are many people who depend on food benefits, since they do not go to shelters or other facilities. “We go out every day with lunch, on visits to the points we have identified, with the delivery of food, in addition to some other shelter or hygiene benefits, as needed.”

Rondón maintains that through this delivery, a bond is established with people, which allows for clarity on the situation they are in, speeding up health referrals in more urgent cases, and inviting them to different accommodations when possible and when they are looking for it. “That is the beauty of the Ruta, which is that along with delivering food, this bond is fostered that allows us to keep an eye on what is happening on the street and, particularly, in those points where people do not go to the shelter or the available neighborhood.”

Your help allows homeless people in the southernmost part of the world to survive the extreme cold in a safe shelter. Thank you very much!

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