How can I humanely get homeless people sleeping outside my house to move?

The long answer

Thank you for your email asking what the best and most humane way would be to deal with homeless people sleeping on the pavement in front of your house. You wonder if you should offer them vouchers for shelters.

Homelessness is indeed a complex situation, and one in which, importantly, a more humane and constructive approach is needed.

There are a number of NGOs dealing with homelessness in Cape Town, including U-turn, The Haven and New Hope. 

U-turn was founded in 1997 and they start with basic relief like food and clothing in their First Phase Service Centre. From there, they go on to Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Support, and finally a work-based learnership for about 19 months, called the “Life Change” programme, which “nurtures and individual’s personal and vocational skills, as well as relapse prevention”.  

In your own area, the chair of the Sea Point, Fresnaye and Bantry Bay Residents and Ratepayers Association (SFB), Michael Ender, said that the approach to dealing with homelessness in Sea Point has changed from relying on law enforcement to providing outreach to those on the street. 

SFB started H.O.P.E (Homelessness Outreach Prevention & Education), a programme that encourages collaboration between street dwellers, residents, NGOs and other stakeholders. For example, its Safety and Cleaning Initiative in collaboration with Straatwerk and Avenue Response has been running since 2015. 

Project Hope was started in 2020 and addresses the needs of homeless people in Sea Point, Fresnaye and Bantry Bay by offering services like family reunification, reintegration into society and referrals to shelters and safe spaces.

They start by motivating a person to change and finding a shelter and recruiting them to a Community Care Ambassadors (CCA’s) team which currently has 30 members. All team members receive a stipend to help pay rent or transport.

But there has been push back from some residents: “It is an unfortunate reality that some residents in our area still believe that the homeless issue is a law enforcement problem that needs to be dealt with accordingly,” said Ender.

What seems to be the deciding element in the success of these NGOs is community involvement.

Thus, my advice is that you contact the SFB and explain your own situation with the homeless people sleeping on the pavement in front of your house, and ask for advice and assistance on how best to deal with it humanely.

These are the contact details for Project Hope:

WhatsApp: 076 412 8218

Email: projecthope.sbf@gmail.com

Website: admin@sfb.org.za

Tel: 063 961 9938

I will include contact details for U-turn, The Haven and New Hope too, in case those are useful.

• U-turn Homeless Support Centres: 

Tel: 021 674 6119

Head Office Address: 155 2nd Ave, Kenilworth, Cape Town, 7708

• The Haven Night Shelter (there are 15 in Cape Town and apparently you can buy a bed for five nights for someone for R75.)

Tel: 021 425 4700

• New Hope is an NGO funded by the Western Cape government and its approach is to provide transitional homes for up to ten homeless people from six to 36 months, as well as psycho-social support, individualised care and work-based programmes.  

Tel: 066 415 3936

Address: 37 Palmer Road, Muizenberg

Wishing you the best,
Athalie