Each month the GP/OKCID strives to keep our streets safer and cleaner, and part of this includes providing very necessary social support.
A constant improvement each and every year in both areas is all thanks to our social support team. The impact they make in these areas is increasingly noticeable, and this would not be possible without the motivated group of qualified and incredibly caring field workers Denaro le Roux, Geraldine Killian, Larochelleย Muller and Shurnell Adams.
The field workers try their very best to resolve social issues in Oranje-Kloof and Green Point by visiting street people at numerous locations around the city. Their goal is to provide better paths for street people and encourage them to seek assistance. Typical issues include searching for suitable employment and tackling drug or alcohol addictions.
A considerable number of vagrants refused to get assistance or leave Green Point and Oranje-Kloof in February. Homelessness in an ever-growing problem in Cape Town and something our Field Workers handle with understanding and with compassion when trying to relocate street people to shelters. Quite a few vagrants reside in public parks, which can become a problem when our GP/OKCID officers need to lock up at night. Our field workers have mapped out โhot spotsโ for drug activity and crime are in both areas, and both SAPS and GP/OKCID officers are informed of these areas and keep a close eye on them.
Problem areas in Green Point include the cut off bridge, the quarry, the corner of Chappini and Strand Streets and around the Cape Quarter Lifestyle Village. The Green Point field workers interviewed 24 street people during February. Two people were placed in shelters and others were put in contact with organisations such asย ACVVย andย Hope House. Our field workers also assisted five people to apply for identity documents.
Problem areas in Oranje Kloof include the area in front of Rafikiโs in Tamboerskloof, Kloof Street/ Upper Union, as well as lower gardens and De Waal Park. The Oranje-Kloof field workers interviewed 43 people during February, where they tried their utmost to assist them either to shelters or seek medical assistance. 7 people were referred to various shelters and 5 people received assistance to apply for identity documents.
