The City of Cape Town’s programme to ‘give responsibly’ discourages residents and visitors from giving handouts to street people, urging them instead to uplift them by donating to the NGOs who have made it their mission to reintegrate these individuals into society.

Cape Town’s street people are very often caught in a trap of substance dependency, unemployment and poverty from which they cannot escape. Together with the wide network of NGOs, the City’s Social Development Department works with them to give them a new start in life.

Through expert programmes that have a proven record of success, both the City and these organisations assess, support and help to reintegrate street people with their families and in the communities where they come from. Once someone has chosen to make a new start, he/she is given the support and skills needed to stay off the streets – permanently.

The key to the programmes’ success is to discourage residents and visitors from giving street people handouts. Giving them money and/or food only helps to sustain their life on the streets. Donations should rather be in support of the NGOs listed below, or to the City’s Smile-a-Child Mayoral Fund.

Smile-A-Child Mayoral Fund
Name of bank: ABSA
Account number: 405 658 4569
Branch code: 631 609
Branch: - Public sector – W.CAPE
Swift number: ABSAZAJJCCT
Reference number: 192070305

Queries can be directed to the Street People Call Centre on 0800 87 2201.

Please click here for the list of NGOs (PDF, 4mb).