Cape Town homeless shelters overwhelmed as hundreds seek refuge from the cold

GroundUp reports that homeless shelters across the city are struggling to meet growing demand amid the cold winter gripping Cape Town.

The City of Cape Town’s safe spaces - which offer shelter, meals, and access to social services - are currently at over 90% capacity. At sites in Bellville, Culemborg and Green Point, only 120 out of 960 beds are still available, the City said.

The Haven Night Shelter, one of Cape Town’s largest networks with 14 branches, says only 18 of its 1,400 beds remain available.

“We won’t turn people away,” said CEO Shaddie Valayadum. They will instead provide people with temporary beds for the night and refer them to a shelter with space the following day.

When the shelter reaches capacity, the Haven sets up extra beds in communal spaces to accommodate the overflow.

Valayadum said shelters see an increase in admissions during cold weather, but that many people leave again when conditions improve.

To help ease the pressure, the Haven in Retreat will add 130 new beds in August as part of a Safe Space expansion project in partnership with the City of Cape Town.

The City said similar projects are planned for Muizenberg, Goodwood, Kensington and Kuils River.

U-turn’s Homeless Service Centre in Claremont is also operating at full capacity. The centre’s spokesperson, Steve Underwood, said the 35 beds available for walk-in clients are “almost always” occupied with returning clients.

He said they also have a “waiting list” for new clients should an existing client choose not to return.

Underwood said that in extreme weather conditions, U-turn makes additional space available in offices and common areas. “Our numbers will easily triple if the rain is really bad,” said Underwood. U-Turn will make “additional appeals in winter for support” to mitigate the strain on their resources, he added.

Keagan (who asked not to share his surname) has been living on the street for several months. He recently moved into the Haven’s Retreat shelter after reaching what he described as a turning point.

“I had to enter into unfamiliar territory, but I was at a crossroads,” he said.

Keagan credited the shelter’s support services and anger management classes for helping him begin rehabilitation. He described going to the Haven as “the best choice he could ever make.”

GroundUp is a not-for-profit news agency known for its focus on public interest stories within vulnerable communities with a "bottom-up" style of reporting.

To make a donation, go to groundup.org.za and follow the 'DONATE' link at the top.

Scroll up to the audio player for more.