Cape Town - The Western Cape legislature’s standing committee on social development conducted an oversight visit to the Haven Night Shelter in Green Point and the Department of Social Development’s Sanitary Dignity Project (SDP) warehouse in Paarl to assess the resources in place to improve the dignity and lives of vulnerable residents.
DA provincial spokesperson on social development Gillion Bosman said the committee was impressed with the operations and hard work displayed at the shelter, located in Napier Street. There are about 15 Haven shelters across Cape Town.
“The Haven relies on the generosity of the community, businesses, the City as well as services and funding provided by the provincial department. This combined effort ensures that the clients who enter the Haven have access to a social worker in their journey to become self-sustainable,” said Bosman.
The Haven chief executive Hassan Khan said: “The visit was fruitful and we shared what we do, the opportunities for reducing homelessness and challenges that we face as an NGO. For instance we have vacancies in shelters not taken up by the homeless, or we pay a third of the provincial subsidy over to local authorities for utilities.”
The visit to the SDP warehouse allowed the committee to see the Department of Social Development’s efforts to address the absenteeism of female pupils caused by the inaccessibility of sanitary products.
The department has allocated R10.5 million for the project, which was launched in September last year. About 90 000 pupils from 220 schools across the province had since benefited as at March 31.
The schools forming part of the project include no-fee paying and fee-charging schools, nominated by the Western Cape Education Department and based on an analysis of absenteeism from grades 4 to12.
The project also prioritises schools in rural areas and special needs schools.