A stream of homeless people wends its way to a fenced-off stretch of tarmac under a bridge in Cape Town\u2019s Foreshore district around sunset to bed down on rows of wooden pallets beneath sheet-metal shelters.<\/p>\n
This is the Safe Space, a pilot facility that provides a secure place to sleep for about 230 people, part of a small but growing army of destitute living rough in a city that attracts millions of tourists a year to its sandy beaches, spectacular views and majestic Table Mountain.<\/p>\n
Their numbers have increased since the last count in 2015 found 7,383 people living rough on Cape Town\u2019s streets as an economic slump fuels already sky-high unemployment.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore people are ending up on the street; South Africa lacks an effective safety net for people who come on hard times suddenly,\u201d said JP Smith, the city\u2019s mayoral committee member for safety, security and social services.<\/p>\n
\u201cPart of the reason why we have increased homelessness is because the wheels have fallen off our economy.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Governed by the main opposition Democratic Alliance, Cape Town has some of Africa\u2019s most expensive real estate and ranks as South Africa\u2019s best-run major city.<\/p>\n
The rising number of people taking shelter under plastic sheeting and cardboard in the city center and suburbs has angered some wealthier residents who say the authorities are failing to deal with the problem – outrage that\u2019s been vented at public meetings and on radio talk shows.<\/p>\n
Besides a lack of jobs, homelessness is being driven by a shortage of affordable housing, breakdowns in family relationships and a lack of services and facilities for those struggling with mental illness and substance abuse — problems confronting expanding cities the world over.<\/p>\n
For Ashley Pillay, 40, who\u2019s been on the streets for three years battling a heroin addiction that cost him his job as a ship\u2019s cook, the Safe Space is the first step to getting his life back on track.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s cold and I have to get food every day,\u201d he said as he unpacked a dinner of potato crisps and biscuits.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it is safe, better than where I was before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Situated near a string of car dealerships, the Safe Space offers free, temporary accommodation to those who can\u2019t be housed in conventional shelters, or refuse to go. Municipal police officers guard the occupants, who are given bedding and lockers, have access to portable toilets and showers, and are visited by health workers, drug counselors and social workers.<\/p>\n
So far, it seems to be working. Less than a fifth of the 268 people that sought refuge there in its first three months of operation returned to the streets. Others have found full- or part-time jobs, enrolled in development programs or secured alternative accommodation. Several similar shelters are planned for other areas in the city.<\/p>\n
Offers Rebuffed<\/strong><\/p>\n But the Cape Town authorities are struggling to come to grips with the breadth of the problem. They\u2019ve found it ineffective to fine or arrest people, and their offers of help are often rebuffed, Smith said.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no person that has not been given an offer to come off the street,\u201d he said by phone.<\/p>\n \u201cThey want structures where they can move or change the orientation of their bed and who they sleep next to. They want as an informal arrangement as possible. You can\u2019t force them to go where they don\u2019t want to go.\u201d<\/p>\n Hassan Khan, chief executive officer of The Haven Night Shelter which operates 15 shelters, nine of them in Cape Town, criticizes the city\u2019s tolerance of people occupying public spaces and says more needs to be done to secure them alternate accommodation. \u201cI think it is a law enforcement issue, rather than a social development issue,\u201d he said in an interview at the non-profit\u2019s head office in the Greenpoint suburb.<\/p>\n \u201cThe longer you allow people not to observe normal rules and standards of the community, the less likely it is that they will be able to rejoin their families.\u201d<\/p>\n Caroline Abrahams, 49, is one of those who isn\u2019t interested in Safe Space. She\u2019s been homeless for more than 30 years and sleeps with her dog, Rusty, under a tarpaulin outside St. Mary\u2019s Cathedral opposite the parliamentary precinct.<\/p>\n \u201cHow can I sleep on a pallet? I want a proper place,\u201d she said in an interview on the sidewalk, a short stroll from the immaculate lawns outside President Cyril Ramaphosa\u2019s parliamentary office. \u201cYou are like a bandit. They search you for drugs. I\u2019m happy on the streets. This is my home. I can go wherever I want to, I can sleep whenever I want to.\u201d<\/p>\n Smith said that while the city doesn\u2019t plan to incarcerate people for living on the streets, it\u2019s determined to ensure they comply with the law.<\/p>\n \u201cI think in the next year, we will move toward a more balanced social development and law enforcement approach,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is about having humane, responsible approach that does not criminalize poverty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u2018Like a Bandit\u2019<\/p>\n
\n