Ahmad Dani, 21, worked on occasional construction projects in his hometown in Pamekasan regency, Madura island, East Java. With dreams of making a better living, he packed his bags and headed west to the capital city of Jakarta in 2017.

But things were not easy for him. As a junior high school graduate with no skills, there were not many options for him in the Big Durian. After several failed attempts to acquire blue-collar jobs, he ended up busking on the street to make ends meet.

Mere months after he arrived in the city, Dani was apprehended by officers of the Jakarta Social Affairs Agency in Rawamangun, East Jakarta, after failing to present his ID card during a raid.

However, his detention had a silver lining. A year later, Dani said he was a changed person. He no longer roams the streets, singing on one public bus to the next. Instead, he now works at a PVC pipe home industry in Tangerang regency, Banten. Things were now steady for him, he said.

“It’s better now. I have a job. Previously my life was hard because I had to busk to buy meals,” he told The Jakarta Post recently.

Dani thanked his transition to the programs he received from the Jakarta administration-run social shelter called the Harapan Jaya halfway house in Tangerang regency.

After being caught, Dani spent four days at one of Jakarta’s social welfare institutions in Cipayung, East Jakarta, for assessment before being transferred to the Harapan Jaya halfway house.

There, he spent around three and a half months socializing with others while receiving training through daily chores.

Then in January last year, Dani was offered work at a home industry close to the halfway house and has been able to support himself ever since.

Settled into his new life, he contacted his parents back home to tell them his whereabouts and about his job.

“My parents are happy. I can even send them money, I had just sent them Rp 500,000 [US$35.4],” he said.

Time at the same halfway house also brought about a positive change for 25-year-old April. Hailing from Kulon Progo, Yogyakarta, April came to Jakarta to work with his foster parents at a printing shop in Kebun Jeruk, West Jakarta. However, one night he was found by Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officers unconscious on the street, thought to be homeless.

He was then brought to one of Jakarta’s social welfare institutions in Kedoya, West Jakarta. But nobody came to pick him up, so he was transferred to Harapan Jaya.

There, he too had to take part in the daily activities, such as training, aerobics classes and daily cleaning around the vicinity.

After several months, he got a job at a nearby pipe home industry. This was one and half years ago.

“I’m happy now. I’m independent and have a job,” April said

Dani and April are just a couple of examples of the people picked up by city officers on the streets of Jakarta considered to be people with social and community problems (PMKS).

Jakarta has 21 social welfare institutions, with the Harapan Jaya halfway house focused on job training for PMKS to help them return to society, Harapan Jaya halfway house head Susan Jasmine Zulkifli said.

She said each resident of the halfway house typically stayed for six months to a year before being transferred to other social homes, returning to their families, or being given a place to work.

“After we see the progress they have made to become active and diligent, we give them jobs according to their skills,” Susan said.

Residents of the halfway house, selected by Susan and the institution’s caretakers, are limited to people aged 20 to 45 years old and who have shown a willingness to work.

“If they are older, they usually don’t want to work because we only offer physical jobs,” Susan said.

To make sure the work offered is legal, Harapan Jaya halfway house has signed agreements with local companies and businesses.

In 2018, the halfway house found jobs for 75 of its occupants, while 50 others were reunited with their families.

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