Relating to the recent headlines of DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette, “Homeless eyesore no more”, I want to express my appreciation of the removal of the street people who are a law unto themselves.
I do understand the socioeconomic dilemma the province and the whole of South Africa is facing, but there are certain factors which play a role in the dynamics of homelessness.
My concern is the proliferation of these vagrants who just occupy public spaces to the detriment of society.
One such space is the pipes at the bridge near Pick n Pay Riverside.
It is a sight for sore eyes as it is a health hazard, especially to the river environment. Rubbish is strewn in the river and vagrants are sleeping in the pipes.
Do the local councillors not drive around their wards including law enforcement and other agencies and state departments looking at the environmental issues affecting the communities? It is really a health and safety hazard including a risk to motorists driving past the area.
Please City of Cape Town do something about all these areas taken over by vagrants. Act in the interest of those tax-paying citizens as it appears that vagrants have more rights than law-abiding residents.
Ivan Perring,
Somerset West
Councillor Patricia van der Ross, the City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee member for Community Services and Health, responds: “The City follows a developmental approach to helping people off the streets sustainably.Reintegration, rehabilitation, and the offer of shelter are the key pillars of the City’s response to assisting people off the streets.The City’s expenditure on its Care programme to help people off the streets amounted to R 77 million for the year 2022/2023, as the only metro in South Africa dedicating a social development budget to this issue.While the national and provincial governments hold the constitutional welfare mandate and budget, the City, as a caring city, intervenes to assist persons living on the street with alternative sustainable solutions.A dedicated Street People Programme Unit of social development professionals offers daily interventions to help people rebuild their lives off the streets. The City also regularly facilitates access to the Matrix substance abuse programme for persons looking to get off the streets sustainably. Drug addiction is a key reason why many end up on the streets. Information on this programme as follows:. The City of Cape Town operates 8 Matrix® alcohol & substance abuse treatment programme sites – one in each sub-district – having pioneered the the first certified Matrix® site outside the USA.. City Matrix® sites were the first substance treatment sites in Africa to receive a 3-year Certification of Excellence from the Matrix® Institute on Addictions, California, saving lives and breaking the substance abuse cycle for patients and their families.. On average, the substance abuse programme achieves over 80% negative drug test rate for Matrix® clients.. Over 8 200 patients have been screened at City Matrix® sites since 2016.The City aims to continue building on this approach as no person should live on unsafe streets. Accepting the daily offers of shelter and social assistance is the best choice for dignity, safety, and well-being.Homeless shelters are a renewable resource. Each time a person successfully reintegrates, their bed space opens up for a new person to accept sustainable solutions off the streets.While efforts are under way to expand shelter space in Cape Town, it must be noted that the number of people seeking accommodation at night shelters or City-run Safe Spaces has consistently been lower than available capacity. The City’s Law Enforcement Department receives hundreds of complaints each month from communities about anti-social behaviour and by-law transgressions by persons living on the street. All laws, including by-laws, are of general application and apply equally to everybody. The prescripts in the by-laws address the unlawful activity and not a specific group of persons”
