Homeless Nineties. Conversation with the Great Bum. The True Story of the CBH Night Shelter, Told by Its Founder

“Night Shelter” is one of the oldest currently operating charitable organizations in Russia: since December 11, 1990, homeless people, who were commonly referred to as the homeless, began to receive systematic help in St. Petersburg. This book is a large three-month street conversation between journalist Anastasia Medveckaya and the founder of the “Night Shelter,” Valery Sokolov. For the first time, Sokolov shares how everything actually began and developed. How to promote an initiative in the Leningrad City Council? How to maintain a record system for those who have no home? How to dare to help those who often come with lice, open forms of tuberculosis, and even steal? Where to get the money? Behind all this stands the story of the personal drama of a former homeless hippie in felt boots, Sokolov. Valery Sokolov is a former hippie and homeless person, founder of the first charity organization in Russia to help the homeless, “Night Shelter,” and publisher of the newspaper “On the Bottom,” distributed by the homeless. Anastasia Medveckaya is a journalist, author of “Muscovite mag,” “Fontanka.ru,” and others.