Third in our series of Great Britons in Romania is Ian Tilling, founder of Casa Ioana, a charity devoted to Bucharest’s homeless. Guest blog by Ian Saunders, our colleague from the embassy.
Ian arrived in Romania in 1990 and settled in Bucharest in 1992. His wish was to convert a block in a deprived area of the city into ten large apartments that would each provide accommodation for some institutionalised children with disabilities. In 1995 “Casa Ioana” – named in memory of Joanne (Ioana in Romanian) Pope, a young British woman, who lost a brave fight against a terminal illness – was established.
Two years later, the Mayor of Bucharest asked Ian to develop the country’s first night shelter for homeless people. The shelter was honoured with a visit by Prince Charles in 1999.
But Ian wanted to do more than just provide emergency night shelter and developed the “ACASĂ” programme to provide a range of professional services aimed at getting homeless people back on their feet and into their own homes. 4,000 homeless people have passed through Casa Ioana since they opened their first shelter. They care for up to 60 people in two shelters at any one time. Beneficiaries can stay up to one year if need be.
I visited Casa Ioana last week: the shelter feels like a small community. Ian and his team of five psycho-social experts work round the clock, supported by regular volunteers. I am one of them, and have been visiting weekly for over a year.
In all his experience, Ian has never met a homeless person who has told him that they have ‘adopted’ this way of life. He has met hundreds though who have told him that they have no hope and no opportunities and have ‘adapted’ to this way of life. Therefore, everything they do in Casa Ioana is aimed at creating opportunities and nurturing self-belief, so that children go back to school, parents go back to work and families move into their own homes. Their success rate is an impressive 80%.
Ian’s philosophy is to empower the residents to take back control of their lives. Casa Ioana runs money management courses, encourages saving, helps with CVs, and gives employment advice. The residents manage their own shelters. They use a mixture of techniques – from group therapy to one-to-one counseling.
Prince Charles aside, they have had a number of VIP visitors over the years from Romanian Royalty to actress Carmen Tanase, currently an active Goodwill Ambassador.
Ian is truly a Great Briton in Romania. He is a retired British police officer, whose initial intention was to stay two years in Romania. 22-years later Casa Ioana is the centre of his life, along with his family. He has received many accolades. In 2010, he received the “Romanian Oscar for Excellence” (normally reserved for Romanian citizens) for 20 years humanitarian work. In 2002, he received the “Order of Faithful Service” for developing professional social assistance services in Romania. In 2000, he was decorated with an MBE in HM The Queen’s Birthday Honours for social community work in Romania.
After receiving his honour from the Romanian President, a former lawyer who was staying in Casa Ioana as a resident turned to him and said, “Before I came to Casa Ioana I was nothing but a bum. Since then, I’ve met the future King of Great Britain, the King and Queen of Romania, the President of Romania, and the Vice-President of the World Bank. I guess that makes me pretty important!’
Ian is truly an inspiration to me – and many Romanians. He devotes his life to helping those less fortunate, is always smiling and positive. I am honoured to know Ian, and I will continue to work as a volunteer at Casa Ioana whilst I am based in Romania.
Ian Saunders
British Embassy Bucharest