| Over 150 CBD respondents accept dignified Safe Space transitional shelter | Over 150 CBD respondents accept dignified Safe Space transitional shelter | | <img alt="" src="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/cityassets/PublishingImages/City%20news.jpg" style="BORDER:0px solid;" /> | <p>Over 150 of the respondents have accepted the City’s offer of dignified transitional shelter at Safe Spaces following the Western Cape High Court granting a final eviction order for various unlawful occupation sites in the Cape Town CBD. <br></p> | <p>The City will provide assistance for the voluntary relocations to Safe Spaces during the week of 5 – 9 August, following which preparations will be made to evict any remaining unlawful occupants at the various sites after 12 August. The court order has been varied by agreement to reflect these new dates. </p><p>The order relates to various unlawful occupation hotspots along Buitengracht Street, FW De Klerk Boulevard, Foregate Square, taxi rank and Foreshore, Helen Suzman Boulevard, Strand Street, Foreshore/N1, Virginia Avenue and Mill Street Bridge in the city. A standing interdict is included in the order preventing further unlawful occupation of these areas. As is routine, when people vacate these sites they will be requested to take all personal belongings. Where personal items are not claimed, these will be documented and stored at the City's Ndabeni facility where they can be collected by the owner.</p><p>The brand new 300-bed Ebenezer Safe Space has been offered to all respondents. A total of 127 respondents will voluntarily relocate to Ebenezer Safe Space, while a further 26 will relocate to Culemborg Safe Space 2. The offer of dignified transitional shelter and social services remains available at all times for those who have not yet accepted. </p><p>'We are pleased that the majority of people have accepted the offer of dignified Safe Space transitional shelter. They will also have access to medical care, social workers, substance abuse treatment, family reunification services, EPWP work, and personal development programmes to help them leave the streets for good. Accepting social assistance to get off the streets is the best choice for dignity, health, and well-being, and the City has gone to great lengths to extend every offer of care to individuals unlawfully occupying public places in various parts of the CBD. No person has the right to indefinitely refuse all offers of social support while reserving a public place as exclusively theirs,' said Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.</p><p><strong>City expanding Safe Space dignified transitional shelter</strong></p><p>The City is spending over R220 million in the next three years to expand and operate its Safe Space transitional shelters beyond the current 1 070 beds across the CBD, Bellville, and Durbanville facilities.</p><p>The City currently operates two Safe Spaces at Culemborg in the east CBD which offer 510 shelter beds across the facilities, with a new 300-bed Safe Space in Green Point opened in July 2024, and a further facility on the cards for Muizenberg, with plans for more around the metro.</p><p>The City further runs the Matrix substance abuse treatment programme, with an 83% success rate for clients, addressing a key driver of why people end up on the streets.</p><p>In the 12 months ending June 2023, the City helped almost 3 500 individuals with shelter placement or referrals to an array of social services. This includes 2 246 shelter placements, 112 family reunifications and reintegrations, 1 124 referrals to social services, and over 880 short-term contractual job opportunities via the Expanded Public Works Programme.</p><p>The City's Safe Space model includes:</p><p>· dignified shelter,</p><p>· comfort and ablutions,</p><p>· two meals per day,</p><p>· access to a social worker on-site,</p><p>· personal development planning,</p><p>· various social services including ID Book and social grant assistance,</p><p>· family reunification services</p><p>· access to substance and alcohol abuse treatment,</p><p>· skills training,</p><p>· help finding a job, and</p><p>· access to EPWP work placement</p><p style="text-align:justify;"> </p><p style="text-align:justify;"><strong>End</strong></p><p style="text-align:justify;"> </p><p><br></p> | 2024-07-30T22:00:00Z | GP0|#1d539e44-7c8c-4646-887d-386dc1d95d70;L0|#01d539e44-7c8c-4646-887d-386dc1d95d70|City news;GTSet|#62efe227-07aa-45e7-944c-ceebacca891d | | | | | GP0|#2a5efaf1-c8d4-42be-8809-9638cebaefd5;L0|#02a5efaf1-c8d4-42be-8809-9638cebaefd5|shelter;GTSet|#2e3de6c1-9951-4747-8f53-470629a399bb;GP0|#e8551c6e-d07b-410f-82d7-c7015c240416;L0|#0e8551c6e-d07b-410f-82d7-c7015c240416|Homeless;GTSet|#2e3de6c1-9951-4747-8f53-470629a399bb | 1 | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
