Commemorating World Homeless Day
TODAY is World Homeless Day when the plight of the homeless in urban centres around the world is focused on.
According to the Salvation Army, an organisation that is active in caring for the homeless, such people require both immediate care and long-term assistance to help them regain adequate shelter in the context of a stable community,
Major Carin Holes, PR Secretary of the Salvation Army’s Southern Africa region, said: “Causes of homelessness range from complex personal circumstances to structural factors out of an individual’s control.”
She added that reasons may include lack of employment due to economic circumstances, or of lack of gainful employment, or of being unemployable. Poor mental health, substance abuse and addictions, domestic violence and the breakdown of family relationships also contribute to people becoming homeless.
“In South Africa, we have an additional factor caused by families in which one or both parents have died as a result of HIV/Aids or a related illness, and children have been left to fend for themselves. Many of these children end up living on the streets,” she said.
Holmes said that in South Africa, temporary homelessness increases with localised flooding that occurs at this time of year. This is often because poverty forces people to erect homes on flood plains.
The Salvation Army cares for homeless people through providing meals, free distribution of blankets and clothing, especially in winter, and shelters. The organisation also runs homes for the elderly.
Last year, the East London Salvation Army ran a “street store” in which homeless people were given the opportunity to choose donated clothes rather than accepting randomly selected items.