The GP/OKCID strives to make our neighbourhoods safer, and part of this is keeping the streets clean and providing social support for the area. Through the help of qualified and incredibly caring field workers Denaro le Roux, Geraldine Killian andย Larochelleย Muller, there has been a noticeable improvement in both our areas.
The field workers aim to provide better paths for street people, they do this by forming trusting relationships with them and from there working to assist them in any way possible.
The festive season saw an increase in the number of street people in Green Point and Oranje-Kloof . ย This was mainly due to the influx of street people in Cape Town shelters during this time of the year. An increasing problem in Cape Town during the season, when many tourists give money to street people, is the increase in drug abusers. This is something that both the GP/OKCID and field workers try their very best to deal with. Unfortunately none of the shelters offer rehabilitation programmes for drug addicts. Our field workers have mapped out where the predominance of the drug activities are occurring in our areas, and both SAPS and GP/OKCID officers are informed of these areas.
During the month of December our field workers have assisted a number of people in Green Point:
Problem areas include the cut off bridge, the quarry, the corner of Chapping and Strand Streets and around the Cape Quarter Lifestyle Village. The Green Point field workers interviewed eight street people last month, in an effort to build a trusting relationship with them and try and understand their circumstances. Last month we referred nine people to shelters and other organisations such as ACVV and Hope House. The field workers also helped two street people find work with Straatswerk, and another two with the process of applying for South African Identity Documents.
