JOSH reflects on World Homeless Day
The National Homeless Network (NHN) has met three times since then and achieved a great deal. In partnership with the IEC, they have enabled the homeless to vote after they used the serving organisation's address as their home address and enabled the homeless to vote.
The Johannesburg Organisation of Service to the Homeless (JOSH) hosted the first World Homeless Day event in Johannesburg in 2017. The event was commemorated once again at the Christ Church in Blairgowrie. The 2017 event resulted in a national meeting of those who served in the homeless sector the following month and the formation of the National Homeless Network.
The National Homeless Network (NHN) has met three times since then and achieved a great deal. In partnership with the IEC, they have enabled the homeless to vote after they used the serving organisation’s address as their home address and enabled the homeless to vote. At the second meeting the NHN worked with Statistics SA to reframe the census form to reflect levels of homelessness. NHN will work with Stats SA during the count to help find the homeless to better include them.
Ahead of the lockdown, the NHN, wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa, to ask for a specific response to homelessness in the event of a lockdown. He stated in his Address to the Nation on 23 March that the homeless would be provided with temporary shelter. Temporary shelters have been established, however, the NHN desperately need permanent shelters – there are more than 15 000 homeless deemed to be in Joburg, according to JOSH.
JOSH has applied for a number of vacant buildings owned by the City and urgently needs these to be leased to it.
Details: Mary Gillett-de Klerk 011 886 0025; ceo.joburghomeless@gmail.com
