City supports provincial department in dealing with homelessness

The City of Ekurhuleni has partnered with the Gauteng Department of Social Development to implement a strategy to deal with homelessness.

This comes in response to increased concerns about the number of homeless individuals in Bedfordview.

In the September 22 edition of the NEWS, Ward 20 councillor Jill Humphreys voiced her concern over the lack of facilities to accommodate unfortunate persons who find themselves sleeping rough.

In November last year, Humphreys reported a homeless man sleeping at the corner of North Reef and Riley roads and requested assistance as the man appeared to be aggressive.

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In December, an inspector confirmed that the area where the man was staying was a health hazard.

Over 10 months, Humphreys continued to report issues of homelessness to officials at the City.

She said that the situation was a difficult one but it could not be ignored simply because it was difficult.

Spokesperson for the City of Ekurhuleni Zweli Dlamini confirmed that there was a partnership between the City and the Gauteng Department of Social Development.

He said the Gauteng Department of Social Development was the lead department in the management of homelessness throughout the province.

“The department has completed its strategy on homelessness and it’s currently consulting with municipalities on the implementation of the strategy,” Dlamini said.

He added that the department had appointed two NGOs to manage the shelter for the homeless.

“As such, there are two designated sites for the homeless in the city. They are MES in Kempton Park and Manger Care Centre in Benoni.”

When asked why the City did not have any permanent shelters, Dlamini said the City provided support to the Gauteng Department of Social Development on its homelessness programme.

“The funding and operationalisation resources are managed by Gauteng Department of Social Development.”

He said that where homeless people are identified, the City refers them to the Gauteng Department of Social Development.

“If the department requests the City’s support, such as profiling and interventions with the homeless to ascertain their status, the City’s Social Development will assist,” he said.

Dlamini added that NGOs that accommodate and provide shelter are supported and funded by the Gauteng Department of Social Development.

“Residents can assist the City by reporting all cases of identified homeless people to their nearby metropolitan police precinct and customer care centres to ensure that the cases are attended to easily.

“Residents can also assist by not giving money to the homelessness as this increases the number of homeless people in a particularly lucrative area,” Dlamini said.

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