Durban - A wheelchair bound man residing in a derelict building and in need of medical attention was reunited with his family in Johannesburg after eThekwini officials stepped in.
The Isiphingo Regeneration team were conducting a routine inspection of the Isiphingo Beach area when they found the man in desperate need of medical care on July 29.
The eThekwini Municipality website reporter Jessie Singh said that Principal Building Inspector Preggie Naicker was inspecting the building for any illegal water and electricity connections.
“During the inspection we found a homeless person in a wheelchair who looked unwell,” he said.
Naicker said they had managed to obtain personal information from him including his next of kin contact details.
Ethekwini Safer Cities Unit thereafter took over the case and had arranged for the man to be transported to Prince Mshiyeni Hospital in uMlazi.
The city website stated that Ntokozo Tshapa from the Unit contacted the man’s brother who resides in Johannesburg.
Tshapa had informed him of his brother’s plight and that he required urgent medical attention.
The family agreed to travel to Durban to fetch the man.
The reunification and reintegration was made possible by the Unit’s Qalakabusha Social Intervention Programme, which was established in 2014 to deal with issues of homelessness and drug abuse in the inner city.
The programme has a string of success stories of the City assisting homeless people to quit substance abuse and find employment.
The city website stated that to date, the programme has profiled more than 4500 homeless people and has conducted screening and psycho-social support for thousands more.