65-year-old homeless man still waiting

FOR 15 years Clive Grunewald (65) has been living in an open garage and patiently waiting to be allocated to a unit in an old age home, where he hopes to live a normal life as he currently cannot step out of his garage without asking someone to keep an eye on his belongings.

In 2015 the COURIER and DA ward 57 Clr Faeeza Chame visited Clive to learn about how he had managed to survive the dire cold winds and heavy rains in his open garage for so long. But his first interview with the media was an emotional one as the elderly citizen dropped tears telling a sad story about how he has been waiting to be allocated to a unit since 2013.

Clr Chame intervened to speed up the process to see Clive living a decent life like most elderly citizens who reside in the old age homes in the South of Johannesburg. Clr Chame is however tired of one empty promise after another and wishes to see Clive allocated to a unit as soon as possible.

Clive told the COURIER that he cannot leave his open garage because some youngsters from the community steal his belongings. He has to find someone to keep an eye on his belongings before he can take the time to go anywhere.

“After finding out about Clive I followed up on his application (in April 2015). Later Clive and I went to the Housing Department to follow up but today Clive is still without a unit to stay in. There have been plenty of units available but not one for Clive,” said a disappointed Clr Chame.

The COURIER is still trying to get hold of Thabo Thofile who is working with the unit allocations at the Johannesburg Housing Department.

Watch the interview with Clive Grunewald (65):

Read the previous article here:

15 years living in an open garage