Cape Town’s housing shame

THERE are 7 000 homeless people living in Cape Town and its immediate surroundings – the highest number of all South Africa’s major cities.

But shrink this definition of “homelessness”, and the number spirals.

Ian Veary, social work manager at the Carpenter’s Shop, believes that the number of informal settlements near the city have become a barrier to homelessness.

“If you compare Cape Town with Los Angeles, both of which have the same population – 3.7 million – LA has a homeless population of close to 40 000, which it has to offer services to.

“The reason Cape Town does not officially have as many homeless people is because LA does not allow informal housing to the extent that we do,” says Veary.

“They have a much more formalised approached to housing. So, while 7 000 does not sound like a lot when compared to 40 000, I feel, because this census was done two years ago by the City of Cape Town, this figure has actually risen, given the tough economic circumstances in our country.

“One of the major causes of homelessness here is the lack of affordable accommodation,” says Veary.

“People need to be near work, otherwise they land up having to pay more than 30% of their salaries on transport. This is a huge investment to make in order to earn money.”

Veary says the reasons why people are on the streets vary. “One of the key missions of the Carpenter’s Shop is to reunite people with their families. This involves a lot of talking with the homeless individuals.

“For the most part, people will open up once a relationship of trust is built up. A lot of our counselling is about building relationships – trusting relationships with our clients.

“We offer a mixture of services at the Carpenter’s Shop. On the one hand there’s a service centring on welfare – including showers, clothing, meals and the clinic.

“On the other hand, there is also the emotional and psychosocial support for people.

“For example, mental illness is far higher among the homeless population than in the general population. We don’t know which comes first, homelessness or mental illness. But there is an interplay between the two.”

And he adds: “Homeless people get depressed. Homeless people have suicidal thoughts.

“Our role is to counsel people, to ensure that they are all right and that they have some form of vision and hope for the future.”