PIONEER PARK – Casper Potgieter, his wife who did not want to be identified, and Alan and Collette Ritchie, are a few of many itinerant homeless people in town, begging for alms.
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These people seem to lead lives of misery because life has dealt them heavy blows, but do you ever wonder if their way of life is their choice?
Sonja Luus, co-founder of Raphah, is of the opinion that people often come to Newcastle with no intention of making any worthy contribution to the community.
“People like this come to our town to suck the system dry and misuse the community by making them feel guilty and sympathetic towards the life choices they have made.”
“My husband, Pastor Gerd Luus, did approach the couple after the older two had left, and told them they were welcome to come to Raphah. They know where to find us; this is the service we provide and we are willing to help them,” she said.
Mrs Luus speculated Mr Potgieter and his wife declined the invitation by Pastor Luus because of Raphah’s zero tolerance policy regarding the use of alcohol.
“Most of these people choose to live on the streets instead of getting help, because they have total freedom and don’t have any rules to abide by. They openly admit their habits to manipulate the public. They don’t want to conform to the norms of the community, because they know pity from others is how they will survive,” said Mrs Luus.
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She said she understood people used alcohol to numb their hurt and escape responsibilities.
“Raphah helps people deal with their underlying issues, or the causes of their lifestyle choices, to cure their dependency. If they don’t want to be helped, we cannot force the issue. You cannot uplift someone by giving them money if they have addictions. You need to find out why they are in that situation and which resources can help them rebuild their lives.”
Mrs Luus gained valuable knowledge on this matter from a man named Peet Smith.
“Peet stayed at Raphah for about two years, and then decided he was better off on the streets because there were no rules or regulations. He could drink whatever and whenever he wanted. He shared with me that his concept was that he was the CEO of his company. His business plan: ‘I only have to make another person feel guilty and I have won.’ His business hours were only peak hours, his office was three specific points in town where he would get the most money, and his cheque book was the piece of paper he held up,” she said.
Mrs Luus said the lesson she learned from Peet was they [beggars] often earned more than workers. Peet asked her why he should work to earn R100 a day, when he could live on the streets getting up to R800 a day.
“These people are very conniving and clever. The only way to change the reputation of Newcastle as being an Utopia for homeless people is if we stop helping the con-artists and try to find those in real need,” concluded Mrs Luus.
