Ward governance and supporting entities completed the first steps of multi layered attempt at curbing vagrancy, on February 5.
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Focusing on two bridges known to house large amounts of vagrants; police, the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD), and members of the Honeydew Community Police Forum(CPF) helped relocate the displaced people to a shelter in Florida. The operations were the result of a meeting held in late October last year where key areas within Ward 89 and bordering wards focused on homelessness, informal recycling, and informal trading.
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“Social Development has been working on a strategy to address the increasing homelessness issue that we face within the Region in both a humane and legal manner so that everyone’s rights are respected, and assistance is provided where needed,” stated Ward 89 Councillor Leah Knott, adding that the Department of Home Affairs was grossly under-resourced, having only one official for the whole of Region C.
On January 31, Social Development and JMPD removed six people from under the Christiaan de Wet Road bridge outside Clearwater Mall. Thereafter, a late-night multi-entity operation was held at the same bridge as well as the 9th Avenue bridge near Devon Valley on Sunday, February 5. Between the two sites, 19 people were found using the bridge for shelter, 15 of those being moved to the Florida facility with four refusing assistance and vacating.
The CPF was called on due to their intricate knowledge of the area and speaking at the monthly sector meeting, Sector 3 chairperson Anthony Beer, explained how those involved in the operation began in Florida to see firsthand what they were bringing the homeless back to. Beer mentioned that the shelter had beds ready but that the gates were kept open as it was not a ‘prison’, many choosing to go back to the street instead. Councillor Knott stated that as of February 9, only six of the 15 remained at the shelter.
Plans are in place to continue these operations and Councillor Knott, as well as her counterparts from neighbouring wards 85, 86, 97, and 126, thanked the social development team, police, JMPD, and the CPF for their assistance. Optimistic with the progress made, Knott concluded, “Hopefully this strategy can be expanded on, refined, and adopted across the Region and City going forward. Problems will only ever be solved when we work together with combined resources”.
