No place to call home - Carte Blanche episode shines light on homelessness

Pippa Hudson speaks to Carte Blanche producer, Julian Sun.

In recent weeks, operations have begun to remove various homeless camps in parts of Cape Town.

Many of the camps have their roots in the Covid pandemic, where, once out of hard lockdown, homeless communities began to spring up near the Castle of Good Hope and the Green Point Tennis Club. 

But the situation in Cape Town is not unique.

This week's episode of Carte Blanche took viewers into the reality of homeless camps which have begun appearing along Johannesburg’s Braamfontein Spruit.

Sun says the jumping off point for the story was a recent crime in Delta Park in which a dog walker was shot during an armed robbery.

He says neighbours living along the green spaces are beginning to feel unsafe.

"Off the bat I want to say, I don't think the people who shot the man were people who lived in the park...but in terms of people living in the park, that is linked to waste picking."

Julian Sun, Producer - Carte Blanche

Sun explains that 'waste picking' is what draws people to the parks and the Spruit.

"You have this influx of people coming into suburbs, following the municipal reufse collection, so on the days when a suburb is going to have their trash out for collection, a lot of these waste pickers are in the suburbs trying to get the recycled material."

Julian Sun, Producer - Carte Blanche

"Its like a nomadic existence of these guys going from suburb to suburb, living in the street or living in public spaces trying to collect."

Julian Sun, Producer - Carte Blanche

As part of their research, the Carte Blanche team flew a drone over the Spruit and parks.

"It was remarkable how many people you could see using the Spruit to sort through waste and living in the Spruit.

Julian Sun, Producer - Carte Blanche

Sun recalls how he went into the Spruit and found a couple living there, the woman was six months pregnant.

"It was jaw-dropping and eye-opening to say the least."

Julian Sun, Producer - Carte Blanche

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