Housing activists question sustainability of moving CoCT’s homeless from CBD to safe spaces

CAPE TOWN - As homeless people in the Cape Town CBD are expected to move into safe spaces and shelters as part of a court order, housing activism body Ndifuna Ukwazi has questioned the suitability of the safe spaces.

In July, the Western Cape High Court gave the City of Cape Town the greenlight to remove about 200 homeless people living on public spaces in the CBD.

They will have their structures taken down and kept at a safe location for six months.

The city has the responsibility to provide alternative accommodation at its shelters for those who choose to move voluntarily.

The court also ordered that those who refuse to move voluntarily by end of July would be evicted and have their structures demolished.

Ndifuna Ukwazi attorney Jonty Cogger also raised concerns about the availability of space for couples and children at these shelters.

"There's limited space for couples or families. Children are not even allowed to visit their parents if they reside at a safe space for that limited period. So, there's no access to privacy and a family consideration."

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However, Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said consideration for couples had been made.

But he said the city has no authority to handle children under 18 years, which is a responsibility of Social Development at provincial and national level.
 
"There are a lot of people there that are still battling addictions. It is quite tightly packed when it is full. So, it is not a good space, or a healthy or conducive space for children. So, they are referred to a separate families-only shelter, where they can stay with their parents or their mom, or whomever they are with on the street at a standalone facility."

Hill-Lewis said he was excited that majority of homeless people were voluntarily opting for alternative accommodation instead of eviction.

The mayor said it looked like the situation might not get to evictions and demolitions after all.

"We've received word from SERI [Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa] that a huge majority of their clients are taking it up. So, we have 127 who are taking it up voluntarily and 13 couples, which is another 26, so that's 153 that are taking it up voluntarily. So that's the vast majority of the number to whom this order applies. There would probably be another 30 or 40 to whom it applies that have not chosen to take it up."