The City of Rijeka has once again provided temporary daytime accommodation in two shelters. The manager appeals to citizens to direct homeless people to this option because many are unaware of it.
Due to a new heatwave, the City of Rijeka has reactivated its measure of temporary daytime accommodation for the homeless. Shelter from the unbearable heat can be found at two Rijeka shelters: Ruže sv. Franje at Baštijanova 25a and Oaza at Ulica žrtava fašizma 12. The same initiative was in effect at the end of June 2026 during the first wave of extreme temperatures, as reported by Novi list.
Milanka Grandić, head of the Ruže sv. Franje shelter, explained to Novi list that the goal is to protect the health and safety of people who are particularly exposed to risks. "We provide temporary daytime accommodation for street homeless people until 10 PM. Users are allowed to stay in the shade, shower, have a warm meal, rest, and socialize with other users, and the registration procedure with the duty staff has been simplified to providing personal details," said Grandić. She added that a person needs to show an ID card or simply state their name, surname, and place of origin, emphasizing: "We are not interested in any other information."
Despite the open doors, interest has been very weak so far. During the June initiative, only five people visited the shelter, mostly in the afternoon hours. In the past two days, since the measure has been back in effect, only two homeless individuals have come forward. "We have space, but people are not coming," Grandić stated for Novi list, adding that, according to her knowledge, most homeless people gather in the area of the former Paper Factory and are unaware of this option. The shelter is therefore calling on all citizens who notice homeless people to direct them to one of the two locations.
The Ruže sv. Franje shelter, located in Kozala, has twelve beds for men and two for women. Currently, seven people are staying there-two women and five men. The facility accepts people from the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County area and offers them temporary accommodation for a period of six months to a year, or until they become independent. Between 30 and 40 users pass through the shelter annually.
Milanka Grandić warns of a concerning trend. "In recent years, we have seen an increase in elderly people seeking our help," she said, recalling that previously, mostly younger, healthy individuals who had temporarily lost their jobs or were going through a divorce would come. "Unfortunately, lately we are seeing a trend of elderly, sick, and family-abandoned individuals, which worries us." These are people with very little or no income. Last year, the shelter managed to place one user in the Kantrida Home for the Elderly.
The shelter's secretary, Dolores Turkalj Jurčević, emphasizes that users receive three meals a day, can maintain personal hygiene, and participate in numerous activities. "We have clay workshops, cooking, housekeeping, we go on trips to Gorski Kotar and the surrounding area where we pick various herbs and fruits and make our own juices, jams, marmalades, and salsa," she listed for Novi list.
Around forty volunteers, partly from the Franciscan Youth, take care of the facility's operations. One of them is Marinko Pavlović, a former user who decided to give back the kindness he received. "I had a very nice time at the shelter when I was a user; everyone treated me very well, and to return some of the kindness and courtesy they showed me, I decided to come back as a volunteer," Pavlović recounted, who now lives with a foster family in Viškovo. Since he is a chef by trade, on weekends he prepares warm meals for users such as sarma and stuffed peppers, although the shelter usually receives meals from the Red Cross.
Seventy-four-year-old Lucijana Afrić, who has been staying at the shelter for a year, says she has found what she never had. "I am very satisfied with my stay at the shelter, which gives me a sense of home and family that I never truly had," Afrić said. She adds that she has applied for a place at the Kantrida Home and is waiting her turn.
