A public meeting at Church Street Methodist Church heard about U-turn’s plan to open a service centre for homeless people in Wynberg. Photograph: Janice Matthews
U-turn, a non-profit organisation that helps to get the homeless off the streets, wants to open a support centre for them at a Wynberg church hall.
The plan was discussed at a public meeting attended by 70 people at the Church Street Methodist Church - the proposed site for the service centre - on Wednesday April 17.
At the meeting, residents were urged to be part of a solution to reduce homelessness, and U-turn said it needed financial support to open the service centre at the church’s hall and give the homeless access to food, clothing and rehabilitation through a voucher system.
Homelessness and drug abuse have exploded in Wynberg in the wake of the pandemic, according to ward councillor Emile Langenhoven.
“Wynberg has become rife with opportunities for drug dealers to prey on people with addiction problems, with drug deals taking place in broad daylight in various hotspots around Wynberg.
“Moving homeless people off, as is requested of me regularly, does not solve the problem. It merely moves the problem elsewhere. I believe U-turn is the first step towards creating a value chain of services that will see homeless people and people with addiction become productive, integrated members of society,” Mr Langenhoven said.
U-turn’s chief business development officer, Jon Hopkins, said U-turn had run a skills-based programme for the past 25 years.
The programme starts with a Mi-change voucher, which is sold by U-turn at R50 for a pack of five. One voucher goes back towards funding the service centre and the other four can be given to any homeless person to be redeemed for food, clothing and other basic needs at a service centre.
“It is a very low barometer entry. If you come one day and not the next, it is okay. Once someone is in the centre, we say but you can earn vouchers, and it builds the desire for change,” Mr Hopkins said.
Vouchers are earned working with resident associations or other community groups cleaning streets.
When the homeless are in rehab support, U-turn pays for shelter fees and transportation to City-run rehab centres. In the work-readiness programme, they get a stipend and then one day a week, they get training support, therapy and guidance.
“The thing that is stopping us from opening is the financial support to do so. We also want to partner with local businesses. People can donate clothing or furniture to our charity shops. Once the centre has started here, residents can buy the Mi-change vouchers and support funding of the centre and the homeless,” Mr Hopkins said.
It could cost from R60 000 to R120 000 to run a service centre, he said.
Reverend Graham Goodwin said the church appreciated U-turn’s efforts and was exploring ways to work with the organisation. The feeding scheme the church ran with Wynberg Community Action Network had been scaled down to reduce dependency, but a lot of needy people still came to the church weekly seeking help.
“We are at the end of what we are able to do as a church and as a CAN. We really need partners who take the whole journey, which we can’t do. We have spent quite a bit of time talking to a lot of the homeless community here in Wynberg, trying to get an assessment; already the feeling is that U-turn are the only ones who offer a comprehensive programme that would work for Wynberg,” he said.
Visit homeless.org.za to learn more about U-turn or to buy a Mi-change voucher.
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