WATCH: Homeless talk about life on the streets of Boksburg

According to the Ekurhuleni Homeless Forum, the growing number of homeless people in the region remains a concern for stakeholders, including local government, non-profit organisations and the community.

With the winter chill ahead, the Boksburg Advertiser spent some time with the homeless on the streets of Boksburg North, chatting about their coping mechanisms for the cold months ahead, substance abuse, daily life on the streets and how, ultimately, they ended up homeless.

Dehumanising lifestyle
The tales of their dehumanising life experiences, mostly stemming from substance abuse, juvenile delinquency and irreconcilable differences with family members, include begging on the streets, scavenging for food in dustbins, being abused, enduring harsh weather and exposure to dangerous substances. Some of them inject themselves with terrifying flesh-eating substances.

According to the unsheltered, the change in season has served as a reminder to brace themselves for another harsh winter, as they will struggle to keep warm or find shelter from the cold.
In pursuit of shelter, some have, with their grimy, torn foam mattresses and blankets in hand, found homes in unoccupied structures, like doorways, pavements, abandoned and dilapidated buildings, under bridges and inside culverts.

Those who can’t afford blankets spend the nights around fires they make with whatever they can find (branches, plastic, cardboard).
They said this scenario repeats itself every year in winter.

Almost all the homeless people we spoke to said they are willing to work and would love to get off the streets if given the opportunity.
They welcome help to survive the cold, change their lives, ditch drugs and heal the scars of the dehumanising conditions they are subjected to daily.

Jaco Bezuidenhout (35) highlights the plight of the homeless on the streets:

‘I’m a survivor’: Donovan Alvan

Donovan Alvan (30), who hails from Northmead, said the streets have been his home for over a year since being released from prison.
He uses one blanket to shield himself from the cold, but it’s not enough.

“Sometimes we light a fire to warm ourselves, but when it goes out, you suffer again.

“The reason I ended up here is a long story. To make a long story short, it’s because of family problems growing up, poverty and mixing with the wrong friends that I got introduced to dangerous substances which, compounded by my other problems, led me to a life of crime.

“I regret all my wrong choices, but I see myself as a survivor. Many people who made the same choices I have made have died. I’m very lucky I came out of that mess alive.”
Alvan said after finishing high school he was desperately looking for a job to get money to survive and maintain his drug habits, but could not secure one.

“I committed an armed robbery and attempted murder in Benoni and was sent to prison for eight and a half years. After my release about a year ago, I went to my family but was told I must look for work.
“Because of my criminal record, I didn’t even try to find a job, and found myself on the streets.”

He claimed to have stopped using drugs after he realised that the substance was feeding on his flesh and posing a serious risk to his life.

“I made a choice. It was either going back to jail, life or death. I know it’s not easy, but all that I want now is to change my life, find a job and be off the streets.
“The living conditions here cause us to become negative about life, which could lead to wrong choices.”
‘We are struggling’: Melvin Afrika
Melvin Afrika, who hails from Reiger Park, sleeps in one of the dilapidated buildings in Boksburg North. He has been on the streets since he was ‘kicked’ out of a local shelter a year ago. He is only armed with one blanket to fight the cold.

Afrika said the cold days ahead are quite a handicap for him.
“I’m sick and the harsh weather badly aggravates my health condition. When is cold, I become very weak and I can even feel it in my bones and chest.”

Afrika said he left his family due to what he described as irreconcilable differences.
He stayed at a shelter for about a year before they, after he became ill and unable to work, asked him to leave.
On the street, Afrika was exposed to dangerous substances, a habit he said he is now struggling to ditch because without drugs he feels ill.
To survive, Afrika picks up cans and plastics to sell to recycling companies.

“I need help to change this life. I’m willing to do manual work, like cleaning and looking after a property of anyone who can offer me shelter, food and water, and maybe some money.”

‘Addiction ruined my life’: Stefan Oosthuizen
Secondary school drop-out Stefan Oosthuizen (37), who admitted to being addicted to drugs and alcohol, said he has been living on the streets for over a decade.
He uses a sheet and a blanket he received from a local church to keep warm on the pavement where he sleeps.

“We sometimes make fire or use plastic to cover ourselves. For food, we rely on handouts from generous people when begging on the streets. There are centres, like churches, offering handouts on certain days, so you need to move fast. If you’re late, you will find everything is finished.
“I made a lot of mistakes as a teenager, and this was because of my addiction to drugs.
“I used to work for a local company, but lost my job and later found myself here,” he said in a low-pitched voice.

When asked if he was willing to go to a rehab centre, Oosthuizen said, “I’m not exactly sure what kind of help I need, but I think I can stop myself.
“I would appreciate it if one of the nearby centres could take us, but I know that it is a bit difficult to get accommodation because they are usually full, and they give preference to people who can work.”

The everyday reality of living on the streets
Thirty-three-year-old father of two, Radebe, said he has been roaming the streets for over a decade.
Originally from Daveyton, he and a group of friends sleep on the pavement outside a business on Trichardts Road, between Charl Cilliers and 8th streets, in Boksburg North.

“The blankets we have are not enough to shield ourselves from the cold nights, especially during the early hours of the morning.
“But we manage because we have nowhere else to go. When it is freezing, we make fire and put boiled water in bottles to hold against our bodies.”

Rabebe said living on the streets stems from a family crisis, which he felt uncomfortable sharing publicly.
However, he acknowledged that his life went off the rails after he started mixing with the wrong friends and starting using marijuana.

“Because of what I was going through at home, I was confused, under pressure and didn’t know what I was doing at the time.”
He lost his job at a towing company after being arrested and spending a year and four months as an awaiting-trial prisoner.

“I bumped into an old high school friend on my way to work in Benoni. We walked down the road together without me even knowing that this friend had stolen copper cables in the bag he was carrying.
“Security officers who stopped us searched the bag and found the cable. Despite trying to explain, they arrested both of us. Luckily, the truth eventually came out in court, and I was released.”

The Grade 12 dropout said he would love to be reunited with his family, whom he hasn’t seen in a long time.
“You know, there is no place like home, but there are certain family issues which we still need to iron out so we can get on with life.

“The first thing I need is to change my life. I need to go to rehab. My wish is to find a job and get my own place or at least be busy with learning new skills. I don’t want to be released back to the streets where the chances of going back to old habits are very high.”

He reiterated the sentiments of his fellow homeless, saying it’s hard to sleep in the streets while sober.
“You need something to calm your stress and fears and to withstand the weather. We do anything we think that is going to make us strong, take away the stress and make us feel better, even when it’s destroying us.
“For example, when I came here I was only using dagga. When you get stressed you say let me try something stronger than that and that’s how I fell into this nonsense.

“This is not the kind of life we always wanted to lead. We grew up with big dreams. I always wanted to become a chemical or mechanical engineer.”

Rabebe said he is looking for a shelter but conceded it’s difficult to deal with or manage nyaope addiction.
“Firstly, many centres see us as outreach cases because of our age. Honestly, if you are on these drugs and you are hooked then you are no longer normal in your mind. If you don’t take it, you feel sick and weak, like you are going to die.

“All I would like people to understand is that regardless of our mistakes, we are not animals or lazy people who don’t want to work. We have made some mistakes, like everybody else, and have learned from our mistakes.
“Others judge us and some help us. There are some who don’t even want to see us because they don’t see us as human beings.

“Not every homeless person is a criminal. We hustle at the traffic lights, parking lots and pulling waste trolleys.

The only thing we need is support to start a new life. The situation we are in is not as easy as many people think.”
Rabebe said the cold and diseases transmitted through needles used to inject drugs have killed some of his homeless friends and left many others sick.

Also Read: Ekurhuleni Homeless Forum ready to elect committee

Also Read: Market Street’s abandoned building a haven for the homeless