Homelessness refers to the condition of not having stable, safe, or adequate housing. It encompasses a range of living situations where individuals or families lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence. This can include:

1. Sleeping on the streets or in public spaces (e.g., parks, sidewalks, under bridges).

2. Staying in shelters or emergency accommodation.

3. Living in informal or temporary housing (e.g., shacks, backyard dwellings, or overcrowded conditions).

4. Couch surfing — staying temporarily with friends or relatives due to lack of alternatives.

5. At risk of eviction or displacement, with no secure long-term housing options.

Homelessness is not just about a lack of shelter. It often involves a loss of dignity, community, safety, and stability. It can be caused or worsened by factors such as poverty, unemployment, mental illness, substance abuse, domestic violence, systemic inequality, or lack of affordable housing. In South Africa, homelessness also intersects with issues like apartheid-era spatial planning, economic exclusion, and ongoing housing shortages.

According to the latest census, South Africa has nearly 56,000 homeless people. The Western Cape Government estimates around 14,000 unhoused individuals in the greater Cape Town area.

In South Africa, services for the homeless are provided through a network of government and non-governmental (NGO) structures, often under the broad categories of Safe Spaces, Service Centres, Shelter Guests, and Shelter Clients. These terms are sometimes used differently depending on the region, especially in urban centres like Cape Town, Johannesburg, and Durban. Here’s an overview of how these elements typically function:

1. Safe Spaces

Safe Spaces are typically low-threshold, overnight or temporary accommodation sites intended to provide immediate relief and protection for people living on the streets. These are often supported by municipalities in partnership with NGOs.

Features:

• Basic amenities: sleeping mats, ablution facilities, security.

• Low barrier to entry: little to no paperwork, ID not always required.

• Temporary stay: usually overnight or short-term.

• Support services: may offer referrals to social workers, ID recovery, health screening.

Example:

• The Cape Town Safe Space model under the City of Cape Town includes designated open-air shelters under bridges or enclosed spaces with security and social development support.

2. Service Centres

These are facilities that offer support services to the homeless population, often without requiring overnight stay. They focus on rehabilitation, skills development, and social reintegration.

Services typically include:

• Meals and nutrition support

• Clothing and hygiene services

• Counselling and psychosocial support

• Job readiness training or referrals

• ID documentation recovery assistance

• Health screenings and clinic referrals

Example:

• The Haven Night Shelter’s Service Centres often function as walk-in support hubs.

• Youth or drug rehabilitation NGOs may run service centres as part of their outreach programs.

3. Shelter Guests

“Shelter Guests” is a term sometimes used to humanise and dignify individuals who make use of night shelters. These are typically people who access the shelter system voluntarily, sometimes with the goal of reintegration into society.

Characteristics:

• Pay a nominal fee per night (often R10–R15)

• Have access to structured support (social worker case management)

• May participate in shelter chores or routines

• Often in the system temporarily as they transition

4. Shelter Clients

The term “Shelter Clients” usually refers to individuals who are engaged in longer-term shelter programmes, often as part of a reintegration or rehabilitation plan. These clients may be referred from Safe Spaces or Service Centres.

Features:

• Often have formal individual development plans (IDPs)

• Case-managed by social workers

• May receive skills training, therapy, or employment support

• Stay can be longer-term (weeks to months)

• Some shelters may distinguish between emergency shelter and reintegration beds

Summary Diagram (Conceptual):

Stakeholders Involved:

• Municipalities: e.g. City of Cape Town’s Social Development Department

• National and Provincial Departments: Social Development, Health

• NGOs and Faith-Based Organisations: The Haven, MES, U-Turn, Streetscapes, etc.

• CBOs (Community-Based Organisations): Local initiatives, soup kitchens, outreach teams

Challenges:

• Funding constraints and limited capacity in shelters

• High demand, especially in winter

• Barriers to access: ID documents, substance abuse, mental health issues

• Public resistance to shelter locations

• Complexity of reintegration: job market access, housing scarcity

That’s a thoughtful and important question, and there’s no single right answer. Chantel Sampson, who used to live on the streets of Cape Town, tells her story.

My name is Chantel Sampson. I was a homeless person for six years. I lived at the foot of Table Mountain from 2018 onwards. You probably walked past me if you visited Van Riebeeck Park in Vredehoek. I was part of a community of about 40 other people. We cared and looked after each other. Some of the people there are still my friends, and I value our relationships.

During the pandemic, I isolated at Lagoon Beach Hotel because I contracted Covid. Isolation arrangements were part of the provincial government’s pandemic response. That week on my own changed my life. I was provided with a place to sleep, regular meals and care. I had time to think carefully about my life. This was transformative. I am very proud that I managed to beat my addiction, and I have reunited with my family. After that, I was employed at Streetscapes as a Community Liaison Officer. I now support others who have no shelter.

I was recently asked whether I thought people should give handouts to people at robots, or whether the money should rather go towards organisations that assist people who are unsheltered. What would do the most good?

It is a difficult question. But my view is there’s nothing wrong with people giving handouts when asked by someone for help. People helping do so out of goodwill and with the best intentions. I relied on these acts of kindness daily – whether it was a plastic bag of food left on top of a bin or a bag of clothes placed nearby, or someone who would put a note in my hand. This was a meaningful way for people to give and for me to be assisted when I was unable to earn a living.

Some people believe that if you give street people money, you enable them to stay on the streets and that you may be doing more harm than good. The City of Cape Town, for example, advises everyone to ‘give dignity’. In the City’s view, your money should be donated directly to shelters and services that the City endorses rather than to people on the streets. Seen in this way, a person with money ‘gives’ dignity to someone without money. This sits uncomfortably with me.

Homeless people have dignity. It is the circumstances in which they have to live that are undignified. And those circumstances can change. Street people don’t remain on the streets solely because better-off people give them cash – although it does certainly help us survive day-to-day. There are, of course, hard times when resources are especially scarce. In those moments, we often turn to local services like the Diner, Hope Exchange, Streetscapes, and a woman – we call her ma – who distributes food in the Company Gardens on Thursday nights.

These services were invaluable to me and many others who still face homelessness. People who run these services help us when we are hungry and cold. They show care when others look away, when we try to make eye contact and ask for help. But we need other things that these local services don’t provide – toiletries, food, something to keep the rain off our blankets, sanitary pads, and so on. Perhaps also when some of us are in desperate need of a ‘hit’ to keep the dreadfulness of the streets at bay for a bit (perhaps similar to that glass of wine you crave after a difficult day at work).

Giving some money to someone asking isn’t solving homelessness, poverty or the dire need for more shelter beds in our City. But it does show that you care and recognise the other person’s humanity. And that you are willing to provide a bit of comfort in an often cruel city. Generosity is a wonderful thing.

Source: www.capetownetc.com