Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis officially opened the new expanded wing of the Haven Night Shelter at Napier Street in Cape Town’s CBD on Wednesday.
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A City donation contributed to enabling a 63% bed expansion at this critical facility, which helps the homeless off the streets in the CBD and Atlantic Seaboard areas.
‘We are glad to enable more dignified transitional shelter to help the homeless off the streets in Cape Town’s CBD and surrounds. This Haven Night Shelter facility has expanded from 96 to 156 beds, with the City making a contribution of R500 000 towards the costs. This is a permanent expansion to the facility’s transitional shelter offering, which is coupled with various social services to support people in their journey to get off the streets sustainably.
‘During the winter, the City further enabled several NGOs to add 300 more temporary bed spaces to cope with additional shelter demand at facilities in various parts of the metropole. This included the deployment of 184 EPWP workers to assist NPOs with general and administrative tasks. The City further disbursed R8,4m in grants-in-aid funding to NPOs offering transitional shelter and developmental programmes in 22/23.
‘Besides our support for NPOs, the City will spend R230 million over three years to expand and operate our own Safe Space transitional shelters. These facilities currently offer around 700 beds in the CBD and Bellville, along with a range of social interventions to reintegrate people into society. A proposed 300-bed Safe Space in Green Point is also currently in the planning appeals phase.
‘No person should suffer the indignity of living on the streets, and at the same time, no one has the right to unlawfully reserve public space for their exclusive use while indefinitely refusing all offers of shelter and support. Accepting social assistance to get off the streets is the best choice anyone can make for dignity, health, and well-being,’ said Mayor Hill-Lewis.
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‘In the 12 months ending June 2023, the City helped almost 3 500 individuals with shelter placement or referrals to an array of social services. This includes 2 246 shelter placements, 112 family reunifications and reintegrations, and 1 124 individuals referred to various social services, including drug and alcohol rehabilitation and health services. Over 880 people were also given short-term contractual job opportunities through the Expanded Public Works Programme.’
‘Cape Town is the only metro dedicating a social development budget to helping people off the streets, and we are committed to doing even more this year with a 23% increase to our programme budget, amounting to R94,75m for 23/24,’ said Councillor Patricia van der Ross, Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health.
The City is calling on Capetonians to direct their significant generosity towards donating to shelters offering dignified transitional shelter to get off the streets, rather than simple direct handouts which don’t contribute to sustainable solutions. For more information, residents can visit the Give Dignity campaign page on the CoCT website.
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Picture: Supplied CoCT
