“There is a stereotype of a homeless person, sometimes called a street- or rough-sleeper. He is a man. He’s a loner and a beggar, mentally ill or ‘immoral’ and helpless. If he sleeps under a bridge, in a park, or in a shop doorway, he is most likely a drug addict or an alcoholic. He doesn’t have a job, is lazy and has no family or friends to help him.”
In an article recently published by Daily Maverick, this definition of the homeless was used. We all know this person. They live on the street corners and under bridges.
South Africa has approximately 200, 000 street homeless people and the census data on the homeless, is almost non-existent.
According to the Health Sciences Research Council (HSRC), homelessness is an intricate problem. Homelessness is a complex phenomena and can be defined as the period of time that an individual or family is without housing or shelter. Because of the ever changing nature of individual’s financial status, similarly homelessness can be temporary or chronic, which refers to a more permanent state of homelessness.
Homelessness however is on the rise, evident from the brief interviews with workers at the NGO Tshepo Community Development Initiative in Northcliff, Johannesburg: almost all the workers hail from outside Johannesburg and came to the city to look for better opportunities. The estimated number of individuals entering the city, every month, is said to be 3 000 – all in search of employment and a better life.
The South African Constitution states that “everyone has the right to have access to adequate housing…” This is reiterated by the Housing Act of 1997 and recognizes that “…housing as adequate shelter, fulfills a basic human need… and that it is vital to the socio-economic well-being of the nation.”
In the 2021 State of the City Address, the Harvard sociologist Matthew Desmond was quoted from his book stating that “…safe housing can promote physical and mental wellness”.
The homeless are mostly excluded from the census, not deliberately, but because they might be undocumented or illegal and they fear they would be reported and lose whatever life they’ve managed to build for themselves in South Africa, in the process. This makes gathering data on the problem, complicated.
Johannesburg Organisation of Services to the Homeless (JOSH) chief executive Mary Gillett-De Klere said in an article to IOL News “there are no accurate statistics for the greater Joburg area for homelessness, but the general rule of thumb is that at least 1% of the population is homeless . . .”
Taking into account the global averages, it is estimated that the homeless community in Joburg consists of between 8 000 and 20 000. No research has been undertaken in Johannesburg to establish figures to accurately view this problem.
A better life, which ultimately becomes a very daunting road of no shelter, limited food, little or no income and limited access to healthcare become the life of the hopeful individuals coming to Johannesburg.
This becomes a spiral with many losing the documentation that they had, or it being stolen from them. The reality is, however, that without an identity document, an individual is unable to get access to health care, apply for grants or find a job.
Many street-sleepers, also referred to as ‘rough sleepers’ do productive work. The work many times are informal work like recycling, car guards, hawking goods or temporary laborers or drivers. These jobs supply very little income, leaving them with no choice, but to sleep on the street. Sleeping rough also affords them to opportunity to start work early or to keep watch over their stock, which they can’t afford to transport in/out daily.
Incorporating ‘rough sleepers’ or the homeless into societies and communities are a longer term goal.
One of the opportunities, to make rough-sleepers part of our society is the “exchange of value” concept in which the homeless provides a service, like informal recycling, to the community. Already in place in Norwood, this offers a symbolistic relationship: recycling is being done in the community, people earn an income from this and the community can contribute to a greener, more sustainable future. It also means that the homeless becomes value-adding members of society, instead of being outcasts.
There are severely limited homeless shelters. The shelter in Kotze Street, Hillbrow can take 150 men and women. Few other homeless shelters exist and the ones that do, are under severe pressure to accommodate the ever-increasing numbers.
The Johannesburg Homelessness Network (JHN) estimates there are approximately 20 000 rough sleepers in Johannesburg alone, but beds in shelters only come to 1 000.
Shelters provide a short-term solution, for a nightly fee but doesn’t necessarily cater for families or for a safe space during the day. An adequate shelter needs to provide privacy, a safe environment, light, heat, water and access to toilets. It is also helpful if shelters are close to job opportunities, clinics, schools and other government services. These are all basic services. An alternative to shelters, that also support the rehabilitation process, for rough sleepers are to expand the range of housing available to low-income and special needs individuals.
Japie Krige, manager of Tshepo Community Development Initiative, an NGO in Northcliff, Johannesburg said that a big addition to their weekly soup kitchen services was the donation of a bathroom unit in 2019, made from a shipping container. This offers warm showers and basins for attendees to shower and wash their clothes. “Being clean means self-respect and being recognized as a human”
Moving up one step would entail options like shared room rentals for individuals with irregular or low incomes but provides them with a safe and stable space. Thereafter, social housing referring to affordable rental units aims to provide homes to those with a steady income.
There is a massive demand for both low-cost housing and shelters in South Africa. This demand, however, means that the end of homelessness or rough-sleepers are not a thing of the past.
Krige, also pointed out that they – the homeless – won’t disappear. “As long as some people need their grass cut or their cars looked after…” the divide between classes in our society will continue. The homeless won’t disappear and so the problems surrounding them: food, access to safe accommodation, a shower and ultimately a chance to reintroduce themselves into the workforce of South Africa, won’t either.
Homelessness is clearly a complex phenomenon and there are no easy solutions available. With small steps, to recognize these individual’s humanity and offering them a place in society, it may just mean the choice between waking up with hope and the complete hopelessness that plaques so many in this situation.
*This article was written by Nelet Kok. If you want to send article submission, contact [email protected].
