In an unassuming pile of tyres, lives four adults and, until recently, three children under the age of seven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With their health and safety a concern, residents had been battling to get help for these children for months before contacting People\u2019s Post <\/em>late last month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having first visited the location on De Duin Avenue at the end of April, People\u2019s Post <\/em>witnessed firsthand drug use and the conditions the children and adults were living in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Russel Chanquin, chair of the Amandel Block Watch had been reporting the matter to the local Department of Social Development for around six months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The children, Aisha (6), Aashiq (4) and Amier (2) were removed on Tuesday 2 May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDesignated child protection organisation, ACVV, provides child protection services in this area. The children were removed, and are in a place of safety,\u201d says Esther Lewis, a spokesperson for the department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lewis says in receiving a report, a social worker conducts a safety and risk assessment to determine if a child is in immediate danger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf this is the case, social workers remove the children, who are then placed in temporary safe care, as their investigation into whether the children are in need of care and protection unfolds. The Children\u2019s Court will issue an order detailing the child\u2019s placement as the investigation is underway,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is important to note that the department doesn\u2019t automatically remove children from the parents if they are homeless. Instead, social workers do try, where appropriate, to preserve the family unit by offering assistance to try and improve their circumstances. They may be assisted with access to psychosocial support, family preservation services, community-based early intervention child protection services, or professional referrals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the mother Zaida Anderson and father Reginald Steenbok, they have been given three months to show progress to get the children back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI need to get off the street and find a job. They gave me three months,\u201d says Anderson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, Steenbok says the children never lived with them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey live with their grandma. They just come and visit me here. Sometimes when it is too late to take them back and dark or there is load shedding, then they sleep here by me. The social workers think they live here,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey said this isn\u2019t a place for children to live. They also think the children are playing on the pavement, but they play in the park. I feel bad. It was better when the children were by me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n His claims are contrary to both photographic evidence received and observations by People\u2019s Post<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ward 81 councillor Ashley Potts, however, confirms to his knowledge they were moved to the grandma nearby, recently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese children are a concern, even though the children are living with their grandma around the corner, they still run around and make their way back to where their parents are. The City\u2019s Department of Social Development is working with the local Social workers to do what is right and in the best interest of the kids within the legal framework,\u201d says Potts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On two occasions prior to this interview, People\u2019s Post <\/em>had approached the occupants. Both times the children were present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lewis says: \u201cAll children \u2013 whether they live on the streets or within formal structures \u2013 are protected by the Children\u2019s Act. So where they are deemed to be in need of care protection (as defined in the Children\u2019s Act) social workers will intervene. We have found that many children who beg on the streets, do in fact have homes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey often work on the streets during the afternoon to collect money or food and return to their homes in the evening,\u201d Lewis continues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBased on the outcome of individual assessments and the child\u2019s specific needs, they may be placed in child and youth care centres. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHowever, the institutionalisation of children is generally a last resort, as a family environment \u2013 alternative family caregivers, foster care, safety parents \u2013 is considered preferable,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So disheartened by seeing the circumstances of the children, Chanquin had been approached by residents wanting to take the children for the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Potts has been aware of this situation, with the group having moved all over the area since October last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI have stopped on a number of occasions to engage with them. They may be living on the street, but they are not homeless. Their parents live in the nearby area. I have logged this matter with the City\u2019s Street People\u2019s Unit,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI as ward councillor am intent on ensuring that no one sleeps on the street in my ward and call on residents to log any known incidents as a C3 service request and to send me the reference number so it could be systematically followed up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Both Anderson and Steenbok admit to being drug users and say they want to get help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Steenbok says he fell on hard times and has been on the streets for the past six years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To survive, they stand at the local shop, or do small garden jobs to make an income, says Steenbok.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Potts says they have been offered alternate accommodation, however not being able to stay together has been an issue, along with needing to get help with their addiction, first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Help in both regards has been offered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe law does not allow for us to simply forcibly remove the likes of these so we are acting within the ambit of the law to ensure that they are elsewhere placed,\u201d says Potts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis confirms this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo one in South Africa may be removed from any structure. Whether that structure be a house, or a tent or even less than a tent \u2013 a plastic sheet \u2013 no one may be removed anywhere in South Africa without an eviction order that is granted by a high court. In order to even apply to such an eviction order, you need to show that you have provided that person with alternative accommodation at public expense,\u201d says Hill-Lewis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wayne Dyason, spokesperson for Law Enforcement, says they have engaged with the occupants of this structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe family has refused relocation. They have received a compliance notice to leave the location within seven days. This only ends next week,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This has since lapsed. The structure remains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cStructure\/tents may only be removed by law enforcement if it is in the process of being erected or partly built. Structures\/tents that have been completed may not be removed. It is therefore very important that the enforcement agencies be notified as quickly as possible,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen a structure\/tent is erected and occupied (which can go up within minutes) a court order is required to have the structure\/tent removed. In this case, the above will apply. A court order will be needed if they don\u2019t comply.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dyason confirms that while a shelter does not exist in Mitchell\u2019s Plain, they have been referred elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey are referred to shelters, but it should be noted many people refuse assistance. They cannot be forced to take up these offers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Steenbok says they will accept help. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe people rented out the house we were staying. That\u2019s why I ended up here. I did not have anywhere to go,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Government must help me find a place so that I can have a better life for me and my children.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are currently four adults living in this structure, estimated to be around 3m by 5m, made of tyres, cloth, cardboard, bits of metal sheeting, plastic and other waste materials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy concern is not so much for the adults, they can see to themselves. I am concerned for the children. The residents and neighbours know about them, they bring them food, but how do we know if these children are eating, and if they have what they need? It is moving into winter now,\u201d says Chanquin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnyone can come in here and use their drugs. This is a safety issue beyond anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n People\u2019s Post<\/em><\/span> approached the Mitchell\u2019s Plain Police Station on matters of arrests, drug confiscations, safety concerns, the claim of criminal charges against anyone removing the children and other matters. They did not wish to comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHomelessness is not a problem per say, drug abuse is however the cause thereof. Until we acknowledge this, we will forever be assuming to deal with this problem in the ward and beyond,\u201d says Potts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They are by no means homeless, says Potts, with parents living in the area, says Potts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAgain, I am appealing to residents to not keep them comfortable by simply feeding them all the time. The underlying crime-related challenges grow deep as this eventually becomes the only way to survive and feed their drug habit. Substance Use Disorders as many know is my field of expertise, given my previous vocational placement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKnow that it\u2019s never just about getting rid of the problem, but rather to ensure that we help them transition from this horrible debilitating dependency toward a more healthier fulfilled life through proper treatment thereof.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n