Redemption after 29 years on the streets of George

GEORGE NEWS - Life on the streets is ruthless.

Locked in a constant struggle for survival in a dog-eat-dog world that favours those who are callous enough to do what it takes to succeed, the destitute routinely prey on one another to get their hands on basic necessities.

"People attack and rob each other for food and clothes. It's the same as GBV [gender-based violence] where one tries to be dominant over another," said Deon Frans (37), who was recently reintegrated into society after 29 years on the streets of George.

Originally from Lawaaikamp, Frans never knew his father, so when his mother died when he was just eight years old, he was left to his own devices. He subsequently started running with a crew of friends. One thing led to another, and before long he was homeless and hooked on drugs.

Cheap and widely available, dagga, Mandrax and tik became entrenched in Frans' daily survival strategy, but turned out to be the ball and chain that kept him from rising above vagrancy.

Theft to survive

Frans has also been in and out of jail a few times, for theft.

Out on the streets, he found relative safety sleeping on top of the green electrical transformer box outside the DisChem in York Street. As a smaller man, Frans often got picked on by the bigger guys. While the transformer box provided Frans the elevation he needed to spot other vagrants and the police from a distance, low-hanging branches from an adjacent tree provided cover.

He said while the police didn't give the homeless much grief, it was a different story with municipal law enforcement. He blamed them for some of the burglaries committed by the homeless.

"They always take our bedding and all our stuff and dump it at the landfill site. That doesn't help, because then we would just break into shops or houses to replace our bedding so we can stay warm," he said.

While the public is quick to portray all homeless people as criminals, Frans said only about 30% of them are bad apples. He said being unfairly judged and lashed out at made him feel worthless.

"Some people end up on the streets because of circumstances beyond their control, while others simply can't cope in communities," he said, encouraging the public to show kindness and sympathy, as one never knows what another person is going through.

Deon Frans' new house under construction in a friend's backyard. Photo: Supplied

A changed man

Frans credits the Ithemba programme for his successful reintegration into society.

Now six months drug-free and equipped with the mental tools to handle life, and occupational skills to hold down a job, the healthy, clean Frans who graduated from Ithemba is a completely different person to the skinny, filthy and drug-ridden shadow of a man who had entered the programme at the beginning of the year.

In addition, he has also been reunited with his wife and two children - an 18-year-old daughter in matric who aspires to become a social worker, and a seven-year-old son. They are all living under one roof at his newly built house at the back of a friend's property.

While being reunited is not without its challenges, Frans said the Sanca parenting courses he completed during his time at Ithemba gave him the confidence to be a parent to his children, while the stress management techniques he learnt helps him to make better choices when life throws him curveballs.

Deon Frans receiving the keys to his house from Ithemba Centre's André Olivier. Photo: Supplied