Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has announced the City will help NPO-run homeless shelters to add 300 beds to help more people off the streets this winter.
The City will further support these shelters by deploying 184 EPWP workers to help lighten the winter workload over the next six months as part of the annual Winter Readiness campaign.
The Winter Readiness Programme is a critical element of the City’s social support for vulnerable groups.
In total, the City’s Street People programme budget amounts to R94,75m for 23/24, a 23% increase from 22/23 as the only metro dedicating a social development budget to helping people off the streets.
Following an application process for winter aid, the City is signing Memoranda of Agreement (MOAs) with four registered non-profit organisations:
They will collectively add 294 temporary bed spaces at their facilities in various parts of the metropole.
The City will further provide non-perishable foodstuff, cleaning materials, hygiene packs, mattresses, linen and blankets to the shelters.
Hill-Lewis says these 300 beds and 184 support staff will go a long way to supporting NPOs in their efforts to help more people off the streets this winter.
Accepting social assistance to get off the streets is the best choice anyone can make for dignity, health, and well-being.
Besides the support for NPOs, the City will spend R230m over three years to expand and operate its own Safe Space transitional shelters.
These facilities currently offer around 700 beds in the CBD and Bellville, along with a range of social interventions to reintegrate people into society. The expansion plans include the proposed 300-bed safe space in Green Point, for which public comments are currently being reviewed.
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The City also has a multi-departmental Winter Task Team that oversees risk mitigation measures in the lead-up to winter, and required responses during the season.
In an emergency or flooding, call the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre on 107 from a landline or 021 480 7700 from a cellphone.
