Cape Town - A coupon system to help the homeless has taken off in Stellenbosch, allowing people in need to access basic necessities.
The Heartflow coupon system was founded by Stellenbosch resident Charl Reyneke after repeatedly experiencing something many South Africans are familiar with: wanting to help people in need, but feeling concerned over how to do it ethically.
“I got really frustrated. I went out of my way to try and help people, and it was so sad to see later on it was used in an irresponsible way,” Reyneke said. “I almost stopped wanting to help at all, and that really bothered me.”
It launched in January last year, and in the first month they sold 26 coupons. By the end of the year, they had sold 8500.
Last week, a Facebook post by a Stellenbosch resident describing how to use the coupon went viral with over 4600 shares and nearly 1000 people commenting.
Pip Ratcliffe wrote she was stopped at a set of traffic lights in Stellenbosch when a homeless man approached her for money.
“When I asked if he would accept a Heartflow voucher, he gave me the biggest smile and said absolutely yes but could I also give a voucher for his friend begging across the road,” Ratcliffe wrote online.
“I gave him vouchers for both of them. As I drove off I saw in the rear view mirror this guy leaping in the air waving at his friend and kissing the vouchers. It clearly made a big difference to his day.”
You can purchase a Heartflow coupon for R10 at any of around 50 outlets around Stellenbosch, including KwikSpars and PostNets. The coupon can be given to a person in need, who can then redeem it for either a
blanket, a meal, or a night’s stay in a shelter.
Reyneke said they’ve had mixed reactions to the coupons from recipients, but that the majority find it a beneficial way to access help.
“Some people are really grateful,” he said. “It’s not that everyone wants a coupon, you also get some people who don’t want a coupon. We’ve had people complain that they get coupons and not money anymore.”
The paper-based coupon system is just the beginning for Heartflow. It works for a small town like Stellenbosch, but in order to serve a greater community such as wider Cape Town, it needs to go digital.
That is where Cheese comes in. It’s an app Reyneke has developed in order to consolidate all the services offered to homeless people, and it filters the services based on location. Currently in its trial stages, the app allows for NGOs such as U-Turn and The Haven to register their services.
People wanting to do good can install the app on their phone and use it to buy all sorts of services
for someone in need: from a shelter stay, new clothes, a hearty supper, or to cover their costs for an educational course.
In the meantime, Reyneke said
running Heartflow has taken a toll on him, and he does part-time consulting work on the side to sustain himself.
“I haven’t been receiving a salary for a year and a half,” he said.
“But I’m so grateful for the opportunity to help in this way. I wouldn’t know what else I’d want to do. I still have this drive and deep desire to make a difference,” Reyneke said.