Eighty-year-old Val McDaniels and her 51-year-old son James have been living in their car for the past four months, despite the fact that they found refuge at the Have a Heart Centre in Roodepoort CBD.
According to Val, they stayed at the Have a Heart Centre, but, she said, the circumstances at the centre forced them to leave. “They charge R1 100 per month and then expect you to pay another R10 to do your washing,” she said. “The only way I can describe the food is that it’s pig-swill. There is no hygiene in the kitchen and the residents are expected to wash their own dishes. They use no salt or any other flavouring with the food either. We received mince one day which was pitch black. Another time, they said we would have chicken for supper, but it was only water, we couldn’t find the chicken,” Val complained. She said the place is only cleaned every now and then.
The Record paid a surprise visit to the centre last week. The founder of the centre, Marius Oelofse, refuted the allegations and said he is very surprised about their complaints. “Val and James stayed here for about two weeks for free. One morning, they simply disappeared without a thank you. They didn’t pay a cent towards their lodging, but they did apparently tell one of the other residents that they were leaving because I was going to ask them for money at the end of the month.”
During the Record’s visit, the Have a Heart Centre was clean and tidy and food was already cooking on the stove. One of the residents said it is the best place to stay. Marius said since the previous manager was locked up for stealing, they have been struggling to get donations. “The owner of the building has now also kicked us out. We have to leave the premises by the end of September, but we have nowhere to go,” he said
Val said they would rather stay in their car than face another day at the centre. “James was born with minimal brain damage due to oxygen deprivation at birth. Despite me trying to teach him to read and write, he never managed to master the skill. He lost his job in 2016, which resulted in us losing our home. We are currently sleeping at the Florida Police Station, but it is not safe at all.”
According to James, his mother has severe arthritis and is supposed to be wheelchair-bound. “She is managing with a walker, but she struggles a lot. We fear for our lives every day since it is not safe to sleep in our car. But we have nowhere else to go,” he said. “We have to live on R3 600 month, but it is not nearly enough to make ends meet.”
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