A new shelter for people living on the streets is on the cards for District Six. Residents and affected parties have until Friday 14 July to provide their comments on the proposed establishment of the Hope Exchange Shelter for Homeless Adults.
The earmarked site is the old Tafelberg crèche in Zonnebloem.
The Western Cape Department of Social Development says there is a dire need for the establishment of an additional shelter due to an influx of people who live on the street and in informal structures in and around the area.
The shelter, if established, will accommodate 116 people, who will have dignified access to beds, meals, development plans and a social worker who will render psychosocial support.
Other services will include referrals to health or professional services, and family reunification and community reintegration services.
The proposed shelter has been met with sharp criticism from some residents.
In a press statement, the department says while there are two other shelters in District Six, the demand for shelter services remains higher than the existing 173-bed spaces.
“The aim of establishing this additional shelter is to support more people with the opportunity to improve their circumstances and to help them off the street.
“The Western Cape Department of Infrastructure has identified the Hope Exchange site as the most appropriate and financially feasible option. This site provides sufficient internal and external space and based on the existing structure, is most suitable to be remodelled as a shelter,” read the statement.
The department also outlined the following concerns regarding the shelter:
- Plans and visual impact: If the shelter is established, the outward appearance of the building will not be changed substantially. Most of the remodelling will take place inside of the existing building. These plans include the redesign of a kitchen, office space, bathroom facilities and dormitories that can accommodate 116 people.
- Noise: The site is located just over 100 metres away from the nearest neighbouring residential accommodation, which will minimise possible noise pollution for residents during the refurbishment.
- Safety: If the shelter is established, the external perimeter fence will be checked and repaired. Measures will be put in place to secure the site during the renovation phase, and once operational, to ensure the safety of the clients, and those visiting the premises.
If the shelter is established, the remodelling work will commence in or about October this year, and the duration is estimated to last between five and seven months, with the shelter expected to be operational next year.
Monique Mortlock-Malgas, the spokesperson for Sharna Fernandez, provincial social development minister, says during the current financial year, R31 million was transferred to 37 shelters for homeless adults.
She added that the subsidies include funding for a social worker post at each shelter, nutrition, and operational costs.
This excludes the City of Cape Town-funded shelters and safe spaces.
According to Mortlock-Malgas, the department increased the number of shelter bed spaces funded from 1 500 in 2020 to nearly 2 400 this year as part of its efforts to address the increased need for these services in the province.
Carlos Mesquita, the founder of Outsider, an organisation that supports people living on the street, says, while he is in favour of shelters, there is a desperate need for second-phase shelters and not entry-phase shelters.
“We have a dire need for those who are currently in the first phase shelters because we have no where to move them when they get to a point where social workers have done their work and they realise that these people are ready for employment. There is no sufficient bed space. We have a huge problem as to where do we move the people that are in shelters onwards to.”
According to Mesquita, the latest count of homeless people in the City Bowl is more than 7000. He says opening another 100 or 300-bed shelter is not going to solve the problem.
Mesquita says more needs to be done to assist people to get off the streets.
“Where do people go to after the three-month or six-month period in the shelter? They get put out until the next time they are told that the bylaws say that they have to go back into a shelter. This is why people don’t want to go to shelters because it is like this merry-go-round that goes nowhere. We are locking people in homelessness with the system we have at the moment.”
As part of the public consultation process, residents, stakeholders or interested groups can make written submissions to the head of the department of social development on or before Friday 14 July, via e-mail to melissa.abrahams@westerncape.gov.za or hand delivered to Union House, 14 Queen Victoria Street, Cape Town.
Visit www.westerncape.gov.za/dept/social-development for details.
