Part of the GP/OKCID mandate is to provide social development support in the area. We do this by employing field workers and working alongside City field workers as much as we possibly can, whether that be financially or through helping locate people. This social development programme strives to uplift the social aspect of both our areas to make them safer and more attractive places to live, work and play..
In both of our areas we have three qualified and incredibly helpful field workers, which we work with on a constant basis. Denaro le Roux, Geraldine Killian and Larochelle Muller – all three of which work tirelessly to help people living on the streets on a path to a better life.
The aim of the project is to chart out locations of street people, and find out whether they are residing on public or private property. The field workers do this by first building a trusting relationship with the homeless, and from there they try to encourage them to make contact with family and friends. Another aspect of what this project aims to do is to assist people to hospitals, with particular attention paid to people who are mentally challenged.
An ever growing problem in Cape Town is the number of drug abusers. Our field workers therefore offer assistance to street people to enrol in drug/ alcohol rehabilitation programs to eradicate this growing development. One of the objectives of the social development programme is to decrease the influx of new arrivals onto the streets, this is done through early voluntary diversion or by alerting the GP/OKCID officers and law enforcement.
City of Cape Town and GP/OCKID field workers converse with street people to try and identify opportunities for them in the future. The beginning of this opportunity might be helping them apply for new identity documents.
During the month of November our Field workers have assisted a number of people:
Green Point has a number of problem areas, predominantly the cut off bridge, the quarry on the corner of Chapping and Strand Streets, and around the Cape Quarter Lifestyle Village. Our field workers have interviewed 38 street people this month, in an effort to build a trusting relationship with them and try and understand their circumstances. This month we placed three people in shelters, and reunited three people with their families. The field workers also helped four street people find work with Straatswerk.