In a bid to help the homeless, only four out of 173 street people accepted assistance.
This after officials from the social development and early childhood development directorate’s street people programme unit in Subcouncil 3 engaged with street people.
Some were also placed back in their community, a unit representative said.
The information was shared at the Subcouncil 3 meeting held last week Thursday where the quarterly progress report on the work of the street people programme unit in Subcouncil 3 was discussed.
Peter Cookson of the directorate said they regularly receive C3 complaints of which most do not require their assistance, but rather people wanting to report street people roaming in the area or scratching in the bins. He said as a unit they always try to do continuous intervention in area north.
Cheryl Visser, ward councillor, thanked Cookson and his team for their work. Visser did however ask what could be done about the street people living along the N1 highway.
Cookson responded saying that they have done interventions, but what they experience is that the people who live there blatantly refuse to be assisted.
Street people in townships
Meisie Makuwa, councillor for Ward 104, said they also have a problem with street people who live in make-shift tents next to houses in Dunoon and next to the N7.
“We do not hear about street people being removed in the townships,” she said.
Makuwa asked what can be done about this situation.
“We want them to be removed as well.”
Cookson said they have not received C3 complaints from the township and that the only township they do receive complaints from is Joe Slovo Park (Milnerton) along Omuramba Road.
“We have not heard of C3 notifications in the township, but if there are concerns that the councillor feels they need to attend to, we will do so immediately.”
Unit aims to restore dignity
He said their mandate as the street people programme unit involves a soft approach of reducing the number of people who live on the street, and to relocate them to a shelter. It is a caring role which involves restoring the dignity of the individual, Cookson said.
He also said they often do awareness campaigns.
“We can do what we want, but if we do not work together then there is nothing we can do.”
Cookson pointed out that street people do not always want to move to safe spaces of which there are two in the city. He said more is needed, especially in the northern suburbs.
