Social Development
- Whether her Department has taken steps to prevent the criminalisation of homeless people; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
- how many shelters for homeless people are supported by her Department (i) in the City of Cape Town and (ii) in the province and (iii) how much funding does each shelter receive in the current financial year;
- whether there are any plans to increase the number of shelters for homeless people and to support them?
- Whether her Department has taken steps to prevent the criminalisation of homeless people; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
The Department of Social Development renders shelter and reintegration services on an equal basis to all homeless adults who seek out these services. The Department does not have coercive powers to force adult street people to make use of these services, or to regulate their actions in any way. It also does not have a legal mandate to intervene in the bylaws enforcement of the law by the SAPS or municipal authorities.
- how many shelters for homeless people are supported by her Department (i) in the City of Cape Town and (ii) in the province and (iii) how much funding does each shelter receive in the current financial year;
(i) The Department supports 1003 beneficiaries in 17 shelters in the current financial year in the city of Cape Town. This excludes shelters not funded by the department and shelters supported by the COCT. Two additional NPOs (Tygerberg Association for Street People (TASP) and Mould, Empower and Serve (MES) are supported to augment reintegration and reunification services in the Metro.
(ii) The Department funds 27 shelters in the Province, which includes both rural and urban Regions.
(iii) Shelter funding is set at a unit cost for a specified number of beds. Each shelter is allocated R684-00 per person per month at a cost of R18 million.
- whether there are any plans to increase the number of shelters for homeless people and to support them?
The Department has also been calling for proposals for shelters to apply for funding every 3 years. The Department increased the number of bed spaces and the amount of money allocated to shelters for homeless adults. In addition, the Programme expanded funding towards 23 social worker posts, 3 social auxiliary worker posts and 1 social work supervisor post for the shelters. The next call for proposals will be June/July 2020.
