NGO welcomes COCT's move to build safe space shelter in Muizenberg
The city on Monday announced it would fund a sixth safe space shelter with a donation of R4 million from the mayoral fund.
FILE: A homeless person sleeping on a bench. Picture: Chaivit Chana / 123rf
CAPE TOWN - U-Turn, an NGO focusing on helping homeless people, has welcomed the City of Cape Town's intention to build a new shelter in Muizenberg but said that putting people in safe spaces was not enough.
The city on Monday announced it would fund a sixth safe space shelter with a donation of R4 million from the mayoral fund.
A private donor is set to match the city's donation, which will enable the facility to be operated by U-Turn for an initial three months.
U-Turn CEO Jean-Ray Fitt has welcomed the city's approach to offer homeless people temporary accommodation at safe space shelters.
"That's a much better alternative than being shunted from one place to the next without any hope of getting back on your feet."
However, Fitt said that simply increasing shelter bed space would not solve the problem.
"Shelter beds are not enough. A homeless person needs a proper recovery journey and unless you can help a person overcome their addiction, their trauma, to develop a healthy support network and then become employable and employed, you actually not going to break the cycle of homelessness."
Fitt said that besides offering shelter beds, the city should also increase resources on rehabilitation programmes for the homeless.