This letter to the editor of the Cape Argus appeared on Thursday April 28, 2016. As the Street People’s Forum (SPF), a sector body of organisations whose clients include people living on the streets of Cape Town, we have been delighted and encouraged to follow The Dignity Project in the Cape Argus over the past [...]
In various places around the world, harm-reduction strategies are showing great gains in dealing with addiction. Many of these projects are not only dealing with the difficult process of helping people get free of addiction but also confronting society at large about morality and how examined norms have led to harmful policies. Here’s a fascinating [...]
Bernard Chiguvare wrote a lovely story for GroundUp about one of the Streetscapes participants whose going from strength to strength. Bernard also wrote a story about Robert, who has been a regular at the Service Dining Rooms for many years but has responded well to the opportunity offered through TrashBack’s HBBC depot at the Service [...]
Here’s a great GroundUp article by Bernard Chiguvare who attended the CoCT Social Development Directorate’s media briefing on the street people survey 2 weeks ago. A great deal of work went into this article – proper journalism! It’s a worthwhile read. Of interest to me is the contradiction between Suzette Little’s comments and those of prominent [...]
Two articles today are instructive in helping us understand the complexities of the situation on the streets. Homeless… This People’s Post article by Astrid Februarie has comments from various street-based people living in the Constantia neighbourhood. The problem is a simple one but it is a difficult one to solve: Cornelius Davids cannot find work [...]
An interesting Washington Post article highlights a recent argument by the US Department of Justice. The matter came up as a result of a city ordinance in Boise, Idaho where sleeping in public was banned. The DoJ argues that such a ban is unjust especially where individuals have no other option. This is the rub [...]
STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO CITY OF CAPE TOWN DIRECTORATE OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT’S RELEASE OF ITS RESEARCH REPORT ON HOMELESSNESS IN CAPE TOWN On Thursday, 6 August 2015 the City of Cape Town convened a media briefing to release a summary of the results from research conducted by city-appointed researcher Lynn Hendricks [...]
The headline on this article is unfortunate click-bait. The article details an incident where a local franchise put up a notice apparently banning it’s employees from feeding street-based people. The notice got on to social media and was quickly removed. MacDonald’s had to issue a statement distancing itself from the notice.
This article in Times Live describes growing fears that someone is killing people who live on the streets in East London. Police however report no reason to believe that it is a serial killer. Either way, the vulnerability of those who live on the street is apparent. The streets are not a comfortable place to [...]
i. The SPF advocates inclusion not displacement. No person should be turned away from a shelter without clear motivation. ii. Knowingly omitting critical information about a client when referring a client to a shelter erodes trust between agencies. This can lead to clients be refused shelter because of an organisation or case worker’s reputation for [...]