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Whom do we help?

Considering its core function, Only One Social Aid Centre primarily serves as a day shelter for homeless people. This determines the way we operate in general, although the range of provided services is much more extensive.

In spite of the fact that a significant part of our guests indeed spend their nights on the streets, in abandoned buildings or in shelters, it would be incorrect to classify the vast majority of our guests as homeless.

The number of those in need of the social assistance we provide is on constant rise: our guests include low income and disabled pensioners, families struggling with poverty, people with different sorts of physical or mental impairment, psychiatric patients, addicts, people released from prison and victims of various types of abuse, among other tragic life circumstances.

As a result, we encounter the many faces of the poorest section of society throughout our service. One can see when checking the list of the beneficiaries of our “Lift Up!” program, or taking a look at the unique stories presented in our book titled “Nobody's Children”.

"Lift Up!" program

In essence, the “Lift Up!” program is an assistance program combined with social work.

The aim of the program is to provide assistance - in the framework of a one-year cooperation contract between our organization and a guest of ours with a close follow-up and at least monthly monitoring - to those whom we can help in taking a well-defined step forward in their lives through the combined means of personal social casework, mental and spiritual support of our colleagues, and financial support of our donors.

Our program provides financial support to individuals and families who are incapable of creating and maintaining decent living conditions without external assistance.

Through the “Lift Up!” program, you can support the specific goals of our beneficiaries or the program itself.

Find out more about the history of our beneficiaries, select the person whom you like the most and support him or her by making a targeted donation! Or support the “Lift Up!” program in general with any amount you like, and let us allocate the money within the program!


Technical details about the program


Our success stories

Dömötör

Commencement of support: 2024. május 1.
Goals: Costs of living during recovery period.

Story of beneficiary:
Dömötör is a 45-year-old man, temporarily homeless for twenty-one years. In the near future, he will need to pass a "narrow gate", but chances are he has never been closer to a positive change and a true recovery throughout his life.

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71%

Csilla

Commencement of support: 2024. május 1.
Goals: Daily expenses (referring to year 2024)Costs of legal assistance

Story of beneficiary:
Approaching sixty years of age and living in extreme poverty, Csilla has been returning to us periodically for more than ten years for food and various sorts of help. Now, she is in serious danger of becoming homeless, which we are determined to prot

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40%

Clement

Commencement of support: 2024. április 1.
Goals: Monthly costs of therapy

Story of beneficiary:
Clement is a 40-year-old man, he has been intermittently homeless since 2015. Drugs have been central to his life story, but he is currently in the process of permanently leaving it behind.

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62%

Magdi

Commencement of support: 2024. január 1.
Goals: Scholarship

Story of beneficiary:
She has been living under the guardianship of her caring grandmother along with her siblings since their parents abandoned them when they were young. They need help because of their bad financial situation.

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47%

Johanna

Commencement of support: 2024. január 1.
Goals: Scholarship

Story of beneficiary:
She has been living under the guardianship of her caring grandmother along with her siblings since their parents abandoned them when they were young. They need help because of their bad financial situation.

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61%

Barnabas

Commencement of support: 2024. január 1.
Goals: Scholarship

Story of beneficiary:
He has been living under the guardianship of his caring grandmother along with his siblings since their parents abandoned them when they were young. They need help because of their bad financial situation.

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44%

Mari

Commencement of support: 2022. október 6.
Goals: Daily expenses (referring to year 2024)

Story of beneficiary:
Still a beautiful, clear-eyed, middle-aged Roma woman, Mari radiates serenity and confidence in spite of the fact that life has tested her. A woman of character as her face exhibits, her weight does not exceed 50 kilos. She carries an entire family o

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60%

Ildiko

Commencement of support: 2022. szeptember 1.
Goals: Daily expenses (referring to year 2024)Flat renovation

Story of beneficiary:
Ildikó has been pale and thin for as long as we have known her - 10 years now - and she is in her 40s. She is a single mother of four school-age children, her husband having long since left her. She has been working steadily as a cleaner for years.

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75%

Abigail

Commencement of support: 2022. szeptember 1.
Goals:

Story of beneficiary:
If you came across her on the street, you wouldn't imagine the story that is behind. It is almost ten years since her parents suddenly abandoned her and her siblings.

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125%

The Lift Up! Fund

The Lift Up! Fund is a virtual pocket that is part of the Lift Up! program. The fund is used to financially support those who have not received a targeted donation. So if you donate to this "pocket", you leave it up to us to decide which candidate we help from it within the Lift Up! program.

Also, any donation exceeding the determined target amounts of Lift Up! beneficiaries automatically lands in the Lift Up! Fund. Along the same lines, if a beneficiary passes away, we will transfer his / her remaining amount to this "pocket" unless the donor instructs otherwise. We will keep you informed of any changes through our online communication channels.

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Nobody's Children

One book. Twenty-six people who are living in homelessness. They are the people who regularly visit the day shelter of Only One Social Aid Centre. They are NOBODY’S CHILDREN.

The world expects them to exist in a healthy way, but they are incapable of that. Their hearts are bleeding from open wounds, the pain of which they try to alleviate with drugs, alcohol or entering casual unhealthy relationships. From their spiritual wounds originates sin, their mental wounds create psychological injuries in others. God is aware of these immeasurable depths, He knows what they have been through.

This book is about their stories, told through means of words and photographs. By gently removing labels like “homeless” or “poor” which are oftentimes attached to them, this book will help you to see them as they really are: unique, irreplaceable persons, your brothers and sisters.

Please read the below book recommendation written by Bishop János Székely! By purchasing the book, you can support the ministry of Only One Mission.

Authors: György Barta, social assistant; Anna Kunszabó, editor; Ákos Tárkányi, social policy expert

Photos: András Dér, film director and cinematographer

You can purchase the book at the following publishing houses:

Saint Stephen's Society MaranaTha

Recommendation
By County Bishop, János Székely

Chairman of the Caritas in Veritate Committee of the Hungarian Council of Bishops
 

Faith without deeds is dead! Without deeds of love, our lives are like a lake without a runoff stream that gradually turns into a swamp. If there is no place for the poor, the sick and the elderly in our society and our communities, then very soon there will be no joy and God Himself will not find a place among us.

Only One Mission is an oasis of love and attention in a world that is superficial and indifferent to the needy. Thank the Almighty, for the outstretched hands, attentive eyes, open hearts and shelters for our suffering fellow human beings!

Only One Mission shares not only bread, but above all, it offers each person human worth and dignity. It expresses the heart of God the Creator by saying, “You are My masterpiece, My child. I have loved you all the way to the cross, and I want to lift you up!”

The mysterious power source of the Only One Mission lies exactly in this truth. When a suffering, deprived person, whose dignity has been stomped upon and annihilated, finally recognises that he or she is infinitely precious in the eyes of the Creator, there is strength to rise to one’s feet again.

Many times in the Church, there are too many words and too little action. Too much energy goes into the spectacle to retain a facade, but there is not enough gold to cover it. The Only One Mission is the gold reserve for our words, a day by day realization of the Gospel.

Transmission of the Gospel must have two basic pillars. One is a deep and sincere encounter with God and His love. The second is to serve the suffering and the poor. Only if these two elements work together can they be authentic and powerful.

“May God bless with both His hands him,
Who, in accordance with the heart of God, does good to the poor.
Him who, not caring to be seen by others, shares his bread,
Him, who does not mind giving from his purse.
May God not let be unblessed him, who covers trembling misery,
Him, who shares the warmth of his stove with the poor,
Him who can be a loving brother for an orphan or a widow.
May God bless him, who wipes their tears away, so
That he himself will never have to shed tears.
And while he is wiping their tears away
With the silken cloth of condolence
May God bless him, with both his hands!”

(Lajos Pósa, 1850-1914, Hungarian writer, poet. Free translation.)

You can purchase the book at the following publishing houses:

Saint Stephen's Society MaranaTha

Snapshots of the daily life of Only One Mission

To some, Only One Mission means a breakfast, lunch, coffee and tea, or maybe a clean piece of clothing or a refreshing shower. To others, it means peace and quiet, a few calm moments after the noise of last night at the shelter and that of the street. However, to others our service means an opportunity to take the next step towards finding a job or receiving aid. For many, we create the space and time to talk and to connect with their fellow human beings. But for those who come to us with an open heart, we are also capable of giving the joy of encountering the living God. Experiencing His love and acceptance is an even more profound experience for those who experience only rejection elsewhere.


more photos


If some of our photos have touched you and you would like to help us in our work to provide our guests with quality, efficient and increasingly personalized care, please click on the button below and choose the form of support that is most convenient for you!


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