Freedom on the streets better than a shelter say homeless

Many homeless people from Boksburg, who were taken to the Benoni Town Hall on April 2 last year as a measure to help curb the spread of coronavirus, are back on the streets.

Some are understood to have been reunited with their families. The homeless are back at their usual spots, such as the post office, Leeuwpoort Street, the corner of Market and Burg streets, Loop and Commissioner streets, Railway Street and Hospital Road, as well as opposite the New Beginnings Care Centre.

On March 23 the Advertiser spoke to some of the people who left the centre voluntarily. According to 51-year-old Calvin Baid, what caused him to leave the shelter was apparently that they were closely monitored, like children.

“I stayed at the shelter for a month and then I left because I didn’t have the freedom to do what I wanted to when I wanted to. We were not allowed to go to the shops or anywhere else. When I went to the shelter I had money, so when I wanted to spend it I wasn’t permitted to go out. We always remained inside the shelter and even when we were inside the yard we were always told what to do and what not to do,” Baid said.

Besides being watched like a hawk, Baid said he enjoyed his stay at the centre because he received food and
clothing.

The 51-year-old said after leaving the shelter he went back to his ex-wife but soon went back to the streets because they didn’t see eye to eye.

Annamarie Wallace (50), who is friends with Hennie Botha, who was also at the centre, said Botha left because he too felt that he didn’t have the liberty to go anywhere.

Wallace, who didn’t go to the shelter, stays with Baid, her 30-yearold son and four other people along Commissioner and Osborne streets, near New Beginnings Care Centre.

“I have been living on the streets for 16 years now. I became homeless after my boyfriend and I were evicted after
failing to pay rent in Plantation. I stand at the traffic lights and ask money from motorists. On a normal day, I make about R50, which I spend on food. Life on the streets is hard but because we have nowhere to go, the streets are now our home,” she said.

What transpired when they were taken to the shelter
When Covid-19 hit South Africa, the government came up with a strategy to home thousands of homeless in temporary shelters to curb the spread of the virus.

Boksburg’s homeless, with many other destitute people from Benoni and Germiston, were homed at the Benoni Town Hall for about eight months, where they were fed and sheltered free of charge.

On April 2 last year, the Advertiser spoke to several of the homeless people at the Boksburg Post Office who were eager to be taken to the place of safety.

According to Aubrey Booysen, who had been living at the post office for over a year, this process was a stepping stone for a new beginning in his life.

“I believe that by going to the shelter, I am going to be helped with my addictions so I can go back home and start afresh,” Booysen said.

The Advertiser visited the town hall on April 8 and found the homeless in high spirits. The destitute men and women shared that life was much easier at the shelter than on the streets.

One of the homeless people, Nature Maphangula (51), who used to live near the Tambo Memorial Hospital before he was taken to the shelter, said they were well taken care of at the shelter. “I am happy we have been brought to this place because we don’t have to stress about where our next meal will come from. We receive a meal three times a day and we get the opportunity to bath,” he said.

Maphangula excitedly shared that his hair was also shaved for the first time in two months. Another homeless person, Justin Meyer, said since he came to the shelter he had been feeling at peace.

When Gauteng social development MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi and MMC for Ekurhuleni health and social development Nomadlozi Nkosi visited the site on September 9, Mokgethi revealed that out of the 400 destitute people they welcomed at the shelter in April, only 39 remained. Around November, Mokgethi acknowledged some of the homeless people who have acquired skills to become self-reliant

Also Read: Boksburg homeless people happy to be at the shelter

Also Read: Homeless people in Boksburg still not accommodated in shelters during lockdown