No quick fix for squatting, homelessness

There is no quick solution to squatting and homelessness in Ward 73, City officials told residents at a public meeting last week.

Ward councillor Eddie Andrews held the meeting at the Alphen Centre, on Tuesday April 25, to brief residents on the issue.

Ward 73 includes Bergvliet, Heathfield, Meadowridge, Kreupelbosch, Steurhof, Plumstead and a small pocket of Constantia.

Trouble spots identified by City officials include Clive Road, outside Lady Michaelis; Gray Street at the back of Burnham Park; near Plumstead station, particularly on the corner of Cecil and Kenneth roads; Burnham Road; and Gabriel Road.

Moefeeda Kagee, from the City’s social development department, spoke about their efforts, from the beginning of July last year to the end of March this year, to offer the homeless social support and help them move off the streets.

“Within Ward 73, 180 people are living on the streets, and, over this period, we have done 873 engagements with homeless people. So we may engage one person more than once. Our teams of people are out here on a daily basis, responding to your C3 notifications.”

However, she added, only five of the 180 had accepted offers of help.

“The people that you see have been on the streets for many, many years, and getting them off the streets is not going to happen in a minute. It is a slow process of gaining their trust, working past all the misconceptions that they have and working towards a solution that is sustainable.

“Some of the social challenges that we are picking up from these people living in the area included domestic violence and substances. We are also picking up cases of psychiatric care and unemployment. We have a big population of parolees in this area, who are not able to go back home. And we meet people who, unfortunately, just choose this lifestyle: they do have homes, they do have families, but they choose to live on the streets.”

Prostitution was also happening along the Plumstead railway line, Ms Kagee said.

“There is no quick solution. One of the first things we are going to have to ask ourselves is, ‘Why are people choosing to stay?’ What we are seeing is an issue around dignity. Something is enabling them to stay. I am not saying don't give, but give in a way that does not create dependence. We need to be giving people opportunities to get off the streets, to move into livelihoods, spaces where they are able to make their own livelihoods, and to do that the department has created a number of EPWP (expanded public works programme) opportunities.”

Inspector Denver van Aarde, from City Law Enforcement, said they had run more than 80 street-people operations over the past six months - many of those in the vicinity of Gabriel, Cecil and Gray roads - and issued 129 contravention notices in the ward. In Gabriel Road, 17 makeshift shelters and 28 squatters had been reduced to three squatters; and in Cecil Road, three tents, seven makeshift shelters and 18 squatters had been reduced to two makeshift shelters and seven squatters.

Law Enforcement ran operations throughout the day to stop squatters who had been moved in the morning from returning to those sites later in the day.

Resident Cherina Smith suggested setting up a shelter in the area.

Mr Andrews said the closest shelter was one run by U-turn, a non-profit organisation, in Claremont.

“We are constantly looking for additional spaces that can accommodate unlawful occupiers for a period until they can move into more dignified opportunities. I don’t have the answer with regard to options in Ward 73, but I am fairly confident we will stumble upon an option within the ward for consideration. Then it ultimately comes down to a budgetary exercise.”

Constantia resident Alan Swift asked what was happening with the homeless off Ladies Mile Circle, in and around Constantia Emporium.

“There are a number of vagrants in different areas. It is on the increase and definitely going in the wrong direction... I have heard a lot of the empathy we need to provide as community members etc. But on the receiving end, as residents, ratepayers and taxpayers, I sense we are going in the wrong direction.”

Mr Andrews said the land in question was owned by the national Department of Public Works, not the municipality. Earlier he had stressed that other government departments would have to make their own court applications to evict squatters.

He said that from his own observations, it was clear that there had been a “massive increase” in unlawfully occupied sites.

“What's the way forward? The social care offering is the first step, and then any current contraventions is the next step, and if the offer is refused and there is a persistent non-compliance, the only recourse, via the courts, is to remove the unlawful occupants,” Mr Andrews said.