The Haven Night Shelter in Kensington has just been upgraded, with bed space increased by 150% – from 80 to 200 – after a R12 million investment from the City of Cape Town.

Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis officially launched the expanded Haven Night Shelter on Thursday, 15 October.

Besides increased bed capacity, upgrades to the Kensington-based shelter include expanded kitchen and bathroom facilities, flooring, painting, and fire safety measures.

The Kensington expansion follows similar projects at Haven-run facilities in Retreat, where the City is funding a tripling of beds to almost 300, and the CBD, where beds increased by 63%, from 96 to 156.

Hundreds more beds will also be added through the City’s various other expansion projects in the pipeline.

The Mayor says over this term of office, the City has nearly doubled Cape Town’s shelter network to over 1 300 beds, adding around 640 new beds.

“It was a joy to see the results of the City’s upgrade to the Haven Night Shelter in Kensington, which can now accommodate 200 people, a 150% increase on the previous 80 beds. This is in line with our pledge to help many more people to rebuild their lives off the streets, while restoring previously-occupied public spaces.”

The City has allocated R100 million in this financial year alone to help more people off the streets. The bulk of the budget – R87 million – is for operations at the City’s four Safe Spaces, which offer shelter and social services; outreach interventions encouraging people to leave the streets; annual winter support to NGO shelters; and work opportunities to help people get back on their feet via the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP).

Over the next three years, R62m will go to shelter expansion projects, including a new Safe Space in Kuils River, the redevelopment of the Paint City Safe Space in Bellville, and expansions to Haven Night Shelters in Wynberg and District Six.