Lisa Isaacs
SHE warms water over a makeshift fire. This will be her shower water, as she makes her way behind a towering tombstone – for privacy – and gets ready to wash.
This is part of the daily routine for one of the homeless people who have set up home in a Jewish cemetery near Groote Schuur Hospital.
The young woman, who asked not to be named, is one of 20 in this cemetery who, like many other homeless people, have set up home in cemeteries around the city.
There are tents and makeshift shelters in the cemetery, near Groote Schuur Hospital.
“There is no bathroom here. No toilets. If you want to wash, you must go behind a tree, put a bucket up and wash yourself,” she said.
She and her partner had to “hustle” for food. Originally from Maitland, she said she has lived on and off at the cemetery for two years after her boyfriend was sent to Pollsmoor, and she could not afford to live on her own.
“My plan is to get out of here and go home. I don’t want to live like this, this is no life. I want a warm home and to be able to make my family a warm meal at night,” she said.
Although she felt safe at the cemetery, law-enforcement would often destroy their belongings in an attempt to get rid of the illegal dwellers.
undefinedBelinda Walker, Mayco member for Community Services, said: “Due to the public nature of parks and open spaces, these areas are inevitably affected by vagrancy, vandalism and illegal dumping.
“The enhancement of green spaces and the increased usage of them by the community for recreational purposes has proven to be the best means of deterring anti-social behaviour.”
Suzette Little, Mayco member for Social Development and Early Childhood Development, said the department had interventions for the homeless, including compiling a database of street people, referring the needy to shelters and assessment centres and even creating job opportunities via the Expanded Public Works Programme.