Krakow funds LGBT shelter despite Polish government hostility

 

Krakow has become the first city in Poland to finance an LGBT support shelter.

The shelter has been run by a charitable foundation, "Glos Serca" ("The Voice of the Heart") since 2016, but has been struggling financially.


The organization offers temporary accommodation and psychological counseling for up to 12 homeless LGBT people at the facility.

The city of Krakow is giving some 184,000 zlotys (€40,000) to give stability and support to the shelter over the next two years.

The decision comes at a time when Poland's ruling conservative government has amplified hostile rhetoric against LGBT communities in the country.

ILGA-Europe, which assesses European countries’ commitment to LGBT+ rights and equality, ranked Poland the lowest of all EU countries in 2020.


City money is also to be offered soon to a shelter in the capital, Warsaw, where Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski signed a declaration of support for the LGBT community in 2019. That declaration drew a backlash from the conservative government.