Haven Night Shelter expands capacity to combat homelessness in Cape Town
In honour of World Homeless Day the Haven Night Shelter in Retreat and City of Cape Town teamed up for the expansion of 120 shelter beds to help get more people off the streets in various parts of the metro.
It was a joyous occasion on Friday as construction of the 120-bed expansion in Retreat has more than doubled capacity from 104 to 224 beds.
This follows the expansion of the Haven’s CBD facility by 63 percent, from 96 to 156 beds. Hundreds more beds will be added by upcoming expansions to Haven shelters in Kensington and Wynberg with the Haven’s District 6 shelter also set to expand.
The Haven Night Shelter Chief Executive Officer Shadrick Valayadum said: “This particular expansion will look at the evictions of people who are living illegally on our streets and causing havoc because of substance abuse.
"Some of the spaces will be opened up to the courts so that they will have an alternative space to go into.
"Some of the other pods will turn into second phase for those who have now graduated from the first phase and find work so we can keep them for a further six months.
"It is a big deal for us because it is a first in the south. When we look at our streets, our streets are full of homeless people so we are able to create a space and bring them in and have our social workers work with them and hopefully reintegrate them and upskill them so they can be employable.”
The safe space module includes, shelter, toilets and bathrooms, and various social services, including ID Book and social grant assistance, family reunification services, access to substance and alcohol abuse treatment, skills training and employment opportunities to name a few.
In attendance was Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis who said that these ongoing shelter expansions are part of Cape Town’s unique social developmental approach to helping more people off the streets.
He added: “There are simply no other cities in South Africa investing in shelter services to help people off the streets.
"I was pleased to check out the completed 120-bed expansion to the Haven’s Retreat facility [Friday], which offers not only dignified shelter but also various social services to support people in their journey to get off the streets sustainably.
"By adding more shelter beds we are helping people to choose social support, reintegration, and even family reunification, over the undignified, unhealthy, and unsafe conditions of life on the streets.
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Cape Argus