Tag: shelters

The effects of homelessness on our city

Homelessness in Cape Town

The Table Mountain fires that have just begun to be contained have sparked debate in Cape Town once again around homelessness. On Sunday 18 April, the day that the fires began, reports that Table Mountain National Park “surmised that the origin of the fire is from a vacated vagrant fire” were broadcast in the news. However, forensic expert investigating the fires David Klatzow disagrees, saying he is “not convinced” a vagrant is behind the Table Mountain blaze. He is asking for further investigations into both SANPark’s and UCT’s roles in possible negligence that led to the fires getting out of control in the height of fire season when measures should be taken to prevent the spread of fires that do occur.

It is not hard to believe that there is a bigger picture to consider and that placing the blame on a “vagrant” as an easy scapegoat is too simple an answer.

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Happy holiday programme helps homeless children

We have a vision to take care of, and support, children in the Woodstock and Salt River areas who live in shelters, informal settlements or severely underprivileged homes.

There are currently 120 children living on the streets of Cape Town – this is a significant decrease to the estimated 800 in early 2000. While this is a large improvement, the problem is far from over. Paul Hooper of Homestead Project for Street Children says, “Cape Town is still surrounded by chronically deprived communities where children continue to be abused, neglected and exploited.”

There is a need for greater care of the city’s children through collaborative community efforts. We have pioneered a project to address this need, by hosting holiday programmes for children twice a year – in July and December. There is currently one underway at Al Noor Orphanage Centre in Woodstock until 24 July.

The organisations involved in the facilitation of these holiday programmes include our WID team, Woodstock SAPS, City of Cape Town, ACVV and Law Enforcement. The programme includes fun activities such as face painting, colouring in, swimming, and playing outside.

A different meal is served every day, depending on the donations that are brought in on the day. These include hot dogs, cooked meals, soup and sandwiches.

Abigail, our social officer says, “I love that these types of programmes uplift and help children in need. It’s also an opportunity for them to gain some self esteem and self worth through the lessons they learn.”

We rely on community sponsors and donations for this programme to run. We would like to thank Power Flow Exhaust in Salt River for sponsoring R500 towards the holiday programme, and to Al Noor for hosting us and sponsoring food and fruit. More than that, we’d also like to thank Mr Parker for sponsoring juice to the holiday programme and continuing to make an impact in the lives of our children in Woodstock and Salt River.

If you’d like to find out more about this project, donate bread and other ingredients, or make a financial contribution, please email Abigail at WID at abigail@wid.co.za.

The reality of homelessness in Woodstock

It’s no secret that there is a significant homelessness challenge in Woodstock, and on the streets of Cape Town overall. It is an ongoing issue with solutions being implemented and managed constantly as the city moves. Although this is a problem requiring a solution involving logistics, strategy and implementation, it’s imperative to remember that we’re dealing with people and not just an anonymous social issue. Each of these individuals has a story, and deserves a future. Here’s how we’re tackling it:

Abigail, our social worker, is working on a sewing project specifically for homeless women. The project will employ women living on the street to earn a weekly or fortnightly stipend for their work. This work will involve sewing and stitching items that they can then sell. We’re hoping to have it up and running by June.

To get this going we need help from the community. The premise of a community is one person, or a group of people, helping others. So we are appealing to you, our community, for financial support and donations of things like material – whether new or scraps – and sewing equipment to be used. Furthermore, we would like to extend an invitation to business owners to offer some of their time to train these women on how to market and sell the products they make.

The vision behind this project is to give these women a purpose and add value to their lives. Their lives are not just on the street. Their lives are not just going to work and returning to the streets. They need an environment to work in that’s clean and safe so that they can earn money. The greater vision is perhaps even to help them set up small businesses in future.

At WID, we believe that we can truly make a difference – more than just keeping Woodstock clean and safe – by working together. If you’d like to find out more about this project or get involved, please email us at info@wid.co.za.