New Beginnings comes under fierce criticism

The New Beginnings Care Centre’s system for providing support to people in need has come under fierce criticism from a former resident of the centre. The centre management, however, refuted the accusations made against the care centre.

The centre, which has been in existence for more than 16 years, is currently housing 190 needy people, consisting of 84 men, 58 women and 48 children.

The complainant, who claims that his outspoken criticism of the processes has seen him rejoining the city’s homeless community, alleged that the centre doesn’t have exit plans for its beneficiaries, which means the current system is not helping individuals or families to get back on their feet after exiting the centre.

A criticism of the centre is that it adopts a system that was designed to benefit a select few who have apparently been lining their pockets with money from the poor residents, forcing them to become prisoners of the system.

Another criticism is that residents of the centre are subjected to forced labour, harassment, limited freedom of movement and are treated inhumanely daily. Staff members are accused of meting out various forms of abuse to residents.

“The homeless are being treated like animals and are forced to contribute 50% of their employers’ salaries towards the centre, which makes them prisoners of the system.
“There are beneficiaries who have been there for more than 15 years and that is a clear indication that the centre doesn’t have an exit plan for its residents.

“I’m a qualified network technician and as a Christian, I refuse to have anything to do with an organisation that is Christian in appearance but withholds 50% of beneficiary earnings and has no exit strategy.
“I was there once but was kicked out for having an appointment with my psychologist. I have witnessed management verbally abusing people. That is crimen injuria, yet they are scared to fight back in fear they lose their bed and food,” claimed the complainant.

New Beginnings puts the record straight
In its response to the allegations and questions posed by the Advertiser, the centre management vehemently refuted the accusations made by the former resident.

According to New Beginnings Foundation’s CEO Pastor Jean-Paul Goris, all lodged complaints or reported improper conduct by staff are dealt with accordingly.

“We have a process in place should a resident have a complaint, concern or grievance. Complaints, concerns or grievances are communicated to me directly by the resident or through a pier communication process. All these channels are continuously available to all residents and are dealt with confidentially.”

Goris said each complaint is investigated and if necessary, the appropriate corrective steps are taken. This process applies to both residents and staff members.
“All outcomes are communicated to the complainant by me as well as the corrective measure taken or put in place. We take the appropriate steps against a member of staff should a complaint be found to be valid and with merit.”

Limited freedom of movement
Goris admitted that residents have limited freedom of movement under certain conditions or measures to ensure safety. Some of the measures are in line with Covid-19 safety protocols including the lockdown periods.
Also, when there is a safety risk present outside the walls of the care centre as has been the case where several residents have been attacked and robbed.
The centre also restricts the movement of residents who have substance or alcohol abuse problems as a method to assist with their rehabilitation.

Forced labour
Responding to the forced labour claim and that residents are dehumanised and treated as a commodity, Goris said the centre has a work programme that requires all residents to contribute to one form or another, adding that processes are implemented depending on the residents’ abilities and skills.
This includes formal employment, internal assistance and internal employment.

Formal employment:
Each resident when undergoing the intake process would provide their work history and a detailed list of skills. This indicates the process that will be embarked on to assist the resident to find an employment opportunity.

“The structure that we utilise to assist with employment is to outsource the residents to clients of New Beginnings Staffing, who then offer temporary employment to the resident.
“Once the resident is employed, we embark on a process of empowering them to achieve fixed or permanent employment with the client.

“Over the last five years, we have assisted over 400 residents who have either been offered permanent employment with clients or have been moved on to alternative employment through the assistance of the care centre employment process.
“Some of these residents do still reside with us because they are in the process of building up the financial resources to move on and provide for themselves.”

Internal assistance:
Residents who cannot function within a normal work environment for reasons including physical or mental limitations are required to assist where needed in the care centre. In most cases, these individuals would receive a stipend weekly for their assistance.

Internal employment
Residents who are skilled in certain fields and would rather assist in the care centre through their skills as opposed to being employed by a client of New Beginnings Staffing would be deemed as staff.

“These staff members are given different roles of responsibility and authority depending on their skill levels and capacity. Prime examples would be motor vehicle mechanics, pre-school teachers, chefs or cooks and administrative personnel.
“We do not dehumanise or treat our residents as commodities; to the contrary, we strongly believe that employment is the backbone of the rehabilitation and reintegration of our residents back into society.”

Fragile individuals
“The reality in many of these cases is that the individual has been in some form of an institution like our care centre and is unable to function in mainstream society due to their physical, emotional or mental disorder. These individuals are fragile and in need of constant assistance and motivation to function within our care centre.
“They are also very close to our hearts as in most cases they are victims of circumstance.”

Modern slavery
It’s alleged that residents who are forced to work against their will for the clients of New Beginnings Staffing feel they are being exploited and see themselves as victims of modern slavery.

In his response, Goris said these are extremely concerning comments if true, adding the centre’s main objective is to provide each resident with employment opportunities to empower themselves.
The number of residents who are employed at client sites as at the end of October was 85 and contribute a percentage of their earnings towards the centre.

“The residents earn minimum wages or sometimes more depending on their skills and industrial sector they are employed in.

“They are provided subsidised transportation to and from their place of employment as well as a cooked meal before leaving in the morning or evening for their place of employment as lunch.

“These vehicles owned by New Beginnings Staffing are used for the transportation of employees, not just care centre residents but members of the local community who are also employed through our employment programme.

“In October, we retrieved R51 448 from our employees, but our combined petrol and diesel bill were R98 556. This excludes the wear and tear, depreciation, insurance and finance cost of the vehicles totalling approximately R58 304.
“When the two totals are combined, R105 412.33 is the actual subsidised total. This amount is subsidised through using New Beginnings Staffing’s profits.

“The residents of our care centre agree to 40% of their salaries to be paid to the care centre as a contribution towards their stay, however, this is only 17.6% of the actual cost per resident. This would exclude the contribution towards their transport costs. The balance is paid for by the profits generated by New Beginnings Staffing.

“The total contribution by the resident via the 40% deduction was R79 663, which equates to R937 per resident, which is calculated against the total overheads of the operation of R450 125 (for October) is a small percentage towards the resident’s actual cost.
“In many cases, there would be a parent who is employed with a minimum of two children who are cared for by the care centre and their associated costs.

“The number of stipends paid to centre staff was 31, and these would include maintenance staff, kitchen staff, pre-school staff as well as afterschool care staff.
“I am sure when you have considered the above information you will conclude that the term exploited is incorrect.”

Beneficiary exit plan
“As part of our effective and supportive exit plan for our residents, we encourage our residents to save the portion that they receive while in the care centre to enable them to exit the programme at a stage when it is financially possible.

“We have a support programme when a resident wishes to leave the centre having been faithful in their employment and followed the correct process. This is done on an individual basis and agreed upon by both parties.
“They would remain employed by New Beginnings Staffing and our clients would also be involved in this process to ensure employment security once they do exit our facility.

“This is done through supporting the residents’ school-going children through the provision of school clothes and stationery, preschool and crèche facilities while they are at work to ensure the safety of their children, as well as the provision of subsidised transport to the parents to and from their place of employment, and food support services should the need arise.”

Goris, however, admitted that they have one resident who has been with them for about 15 years, saying this is an individual who would not be in a position, mentally, to function outside of their care centre.

Illegal immigrants
It was previously claimed that some of the immigrant workers do not have the correct documentation to get legitimate jobs, which is apparently used as a green light for the employers to take advantage of the immigrants.

Responding to this, Goris said they do not have any undocumented foreign nationals at the centre, adding that they only have three foreign nationals who are all documented.

“Two of the three are over the age of 60 and are semi-retired having been in South Africa for 12 years and the third is a member of staff who has been with us for more than 12 years. They are treated with respect and dignity as would be the norm for any resident in our care centre.
“They have ample opportunity to move on, but have decided to dedicate their lives to serving the care centre residents.”

Monetary support
Goris pointed out that the centre is not receiving any form of grant funding from the Department of Social Development or any other organisation for that matter, adding they fund their organisation through their social entrepreneurial initiatives.

The profits generated provide the financial support for the remaining 82.4% of the cost not covered by the contribution from residents.
“We have donors who assist with food, clothing and medical support but very few provide monetary support.”

Misconceptions
Goris said they firmly believe that the best possible method to dispel any misconceptions or misinformation is to invite those who have raised concerns to visit their facility to see first-hand what they do.

“As an organisation, we strive to improve wherever possible and see criticism as an opportunity to seek alternatives or solutions, rather than be offended or discouraged.
“The services we provide to the greater Boksburg community are done with passion and we are on a continuous programme of improvement and to do more,” said Goris.

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