GEORGE NEWS - George Municipality appeals to Georgians to become a part of the solution for people living on the streets by giving donations to organisations such as the George Night Shelter or Kidstop rather than giving money or handouts to adults or children begging at street intersections, as this has increasingly become a concern.
New arrivals
According to Estelle Fredericks of the municipality's social development department, there has been an increase in people living on the streets, which is being exacerbated by the current economic situation.
She said that giving such people money or handouts on the streets will only encourage them to keep living on the streets and has negative long-term effects.
Plots forum
The Plots (People Living on The Streets) forum was established in 2018 by George Municipality to holistically address the many factors associated with homeless people.
The forum includes representatives from the municipality, the police, Kid Stop (focuses on children living on the streets), People Against Substance Abuse (Pasa), Smoking & Alcohol Harms Alleviation & Rehabilitation Association (Sahara), Christian Rehabilitation Ministries to the Homeless of George (Cremhog) and the national departments of social development and health.
The Plots forum aims to eradicate the issue of homelessness. Night outreaches take place to quantify the number of persons currently living on the streets. These surveys also serve as a tool to identify the needs of the individuals and assess how they can be assisted going forward.
Toiletries
The municipality continues to provide clothing and toiletries to persons living on the street. The toiletries include soap, facecloths, toothpaste, toothbrushes, roll-on and sanitary pads.
The municipality maintains a clothing bank where residents of George donate clothing for this purpose. Many of the homeless ask for clothing or toiletries to be presentable and a register is kept for this purpose. It would assist the municipality if more residents could donate clothing and toiletries as no funding is available for this purpose.
Job seekers
The municipal social development division runs a job seekers programme where the homeless are motivated to seek jobs, even if it is in the informal market. The department assists with drawing up CVs and registering the homeless on the EPWP database for job opportunities.
Through other stakeholders, reunification services are also planned for those individuals who indicate that they want to reunite with their families. The issue of homelessness is a vast challenge and assistance from all spheres is needed to address the issue properly.
Not a crime
Living on the streets is not a crime; therefore, these people cannot be arrested or moved without their consent. The social development and law enforcement departments' mandate is limited, as the bulk of the functions to assist people living on the streets fall under the police and the National Department of Social Development.
George residents, business owners and organisations who want to help the homeless and /or submit innovative ideas on how to help the homeless, are invited to join the Plots monthly meeting. You can contact Estelle Fredericks on 044 802 2000, ext. 2015 during office hours for more information.
Contacts
The public may also contact these organisations: Freddy Trout of Pasa (People Against Substance Abuse) on 068 487 4848, Jonathan Gelderbloem of YFC Kidstop on 044 874 2624/044 875 1794, Department of Social Services on 044 814 1920 or André Olivier of Cremhog on andre.olivier1962@gmail.com.
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