The north Tel Aviv police district has, for years, been combining staffers and police volunteers to lend a hand in the community via a program called “Something for Someone”.

The project connects the officer and volunteers to the members of the community who have, for one reason or another, found themselves on the outskirts of society. Many of these people have fallen through the cracks in the system and are not receiving help from any government body.

A few weeks ago, police dispatch received a call regarding a man who was defecating outside on Einstein Street in Tel Aviv. Local Police Commander, Staff Sergeant Ilan Chazan, responded to the call and found the offender. After asking him a few questions at the scene, Chazan understood that the man was completely alone and was in a state of crisis. The man lives by himself in an apartment, which was, for all intents and purposes an indoor garbage dump. The apartment was filled with refuse and was infested with rats and voles.

When Staff Sergeant Chazan saw the apartment, he recoiled and set out on a mission to help this man get his apartment clean and liveable once again. Ilan enlisted the services of the city’s waste department as well as his fellow officers and police volunteers from the project. The waste management department removed more than 4 tons of refuse from the apartment.

Officers and volunteers then breached the apartment and began to clean, wash, and disinfect the apartment. The team then approached various chessed organizations and received donations for furniture and contents for the apartment including closets.

Chazan then spoke to the city’s social services and arranged for the man to receive a warm cooked meal on a regular basis so that he would no longer have to look in dumpsters to find his food. Chazan, as well a s other officers from the project promised the man that they will continue to check up on him and will continue to help him whenever needed.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)