The response has been heartening. Singh and his team have persuaded the Archbishop of the Catholic Church in Delhi to help them. Thanks to the former’s persistence, St Anthony’s School in Paharganj threw open its doors in 2002 as night shelters for street children. Likewise, St Columba’s School opened up its campus to the homeless.

Singh and his group effectively run two shelters on a model basis—the 24-hour Fatehpuri and Fountain Chowk shelters. The former can accommodate 500 people at a time, while the Fountain Chowk shelter can house 150 people.

But it wasn’t easy to sensitise people to the needs of the marginalised urban poor. “It took time and perseverance to convince people of the dire need for roofs over the head of the homeless. We had to put in a lot of effort into researching the problem and getting our facts right,” says Singh. “At one end the idea is to leverage the support of the government and civic bodies to increase the number of shelters for the homeless. Along with it we want to empower the homeless by enabling them to demand their rights.”

Singh is also now also trying to get religious institutions, schools and the media, involved in his efforts.