The recently launched Homeless Hub in Observatory aims to provide people living on the street with basic services that they do not necessarily have access to.
Carlos Mesquita, Managing Director of Rehoming Collective and founder of the Hub, says he was homeless for several years and formed the hub based on his personal experiences on the streets.
The hub which is run from the Rainbow House and YMCA Observatory offers people on the street services including emergency accommodation, legal advice and practical skills.
Mesquita says: “I was living on the street in Van Riebeek Park and Sea Point for about five years. There is no place or drop-in centre where homeless people can go where services are being offered. Most shelters only offer them a place to sleep and there is nothing for them to do throughout the day.”
He says the hub will form a one-stop shop for people.
“There are a number of services that homeless people require, from medical services to legal services. A lot of the things at the hub deals with what I had to go through on the streets. Even if we are not able to provide all the services, we will make that accessible to them. Once a week legal practitioners will come in to offer legal advice.”
According to Mesquita, the hub is available to all people living on the street. “Homeless people don’t have a physical address so they can’t do things; we will provide that proof of address to them. We will help them get their IDs and provide them with storage facilities where they can keep it safe. We provide emergency shelter to them as well where they can stay overnight.”
Mesquita explains that the concept of the hub is to promote people getting off the street in a dignified way.
“We want to set systems in place so that when people end up on the street it doesn’t take them more than a week to get them accommodated. Chronic homelessness can be solved. All they need is dignified accommodation. There are many reasons why people don’t want to go to shelters. The hub will be promoting dignified services and accommodation for homeless people.”
He says the hub forms part of partnership with various local businesses and organisations. One such organisation is the Yes We Can South Africa Foundation.
The foundation is a non-profit company (NPC) that empowers vulnerable people with skills training in sewing, business start-up and management. The foundation will offer sewing lessons to homeless people.
Mesquita says: “Through their generous donation of tutors, sewing machines, material and cotton, the project will empower people that are unemployed both at Rainbow House, YMCA and those on the street. The first 10 being trained will then train another 10 and 10 at a time. We will be empowering homeless people at Rainbow House.”
Mila Moreano, founder and chair of the foundation, says: “We are offering them the sewing lessons free of charge because we believe in them. We want to empower them with skills. For our first lessons they made a garment, we wanted them to wear something they made themselves. They were so proud. It is wonderful to see so many of them that want to change.”
Moreano explains that they want to give people living on the street a chance to start over.
“You cannot only take the person out of the streets, they need a lot of counselling. It’s about giving them a second chance.”
Mesquita says without funding from the government none of these types of initiatives are sustainable.
“The funding that is currently being provided to shelters need to be redirected to other ways to accommodate homeless people. Everything about this organisation has been a gift from God. We are self-funded and often struggle with finances. We are in constant need of donations to keep the hub afloat and we also need more volunteers.”
Mesquita says they have received a grant from government which will be used to provide the homeless people they have employed with a stipend.
He says their focus is to get the community and people living on the street to join hands.
“We have involved the community in the hub, because we want the residents and the homeless to work together. The people working at the hub are all homeless. So, 25 of them that are community engagement officers and 20 fieldworkers. The fieldworkers will be going out into the streets.”
He says they will be working with the City of Cape Town to gain access to some services. “The hub will be doing a census every quarter and once a year we will do a real-time count of how people are living on the streets, and we will share this with the City because their numbers of homeless people are far below the actual count.”
Mesquita encourages people living on the street to empower themselves.
“To all who will be employed through this project and those who will benefit, I would like to say grab this opportunity, embrace, learn, empower and share your blessing.”
