Cape Town - Activists and organisations working with homeless people have lauded the revamping of the former Robbie Nurock Day Hospital, located in Cape Town, to be used as a shelter.
They say this is something they had fought long and hard for.
The property was originally used as a primary health care facility but has been standing vacant for five years.
The department said it had allocated R4.5 million over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework to establish the shelter, which is expected to be in operation by end of March next year and would accommodate 100 people.
Social Development MEC Sharna Fernandez said the facility would be managed by a suitable non-profit organisation partner, to be identified by the department.
This would be the fourth shelter space that covers the areas from Hout Bay, Atlantic Seaboard, CBD, Gardens, and Oranjezicht.Others are The Haven in Green Point and the City’s safe spaces at Culemborg.
Haven night shelter chief executive Hassan Khan said an increase in bed spaces was welcomed and he hoped it would be an opportunity to help the homeless get back to their families and the community.
“We have a shortage of bed spaces for the homeless people in our city, which means they can't access the social services to come out of the streets and be integrated into the community.
“I look forward to the partnership between the City and the province and shelter operators. The cost of running a shelter is prohibitively expensive and as shelters, we spend just under a quarter of what the province gives us in subsidies to the City and local authorities for water and electricity,” Hassan said.
Provincial ANC spokesperson on Social Development Gladys Bakubaku-Vos said the slow progress made was concerning as she would have preferred the shelter to be operational before the year end.
"Another point of focus should be ensuring that each shelter in the province has both a Social Workers and a Social Auxiliary Workers. At the present moment there is a shortage of these critical positions. We welcome this development and call on the MEC to ensure all shelters have enough staff to do the work" she said.
Founder of the Rehoming Collective Carlos Mesquita said he hoped that the department and the service providers tasked with running the facility would use it to its fullest.
“While MEC Fernandez indicated that a service provider was still to be announced, I am hoping that the model t hey implement is housing-focused rather than emergency services focused.
“Which means that keeping individuals homed takes priority over all the other services they may require. It is, of course, imperative that these services are easily accessible to all and the opportunities to upskill and employ the residents,” he said.
Mesquita said the location of the shelter was convenient as it had a historical association for the homeless and was effectively the first accommodation option for people living on the streets of the CBD.
“It is also conveniently placed near hospitals, all transport lines, the police as well as other NGOs offering services in the area. I will be watching to see what is done with this important addition to accommodating the homeless in Cape Town,” he said.