Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Helping the homeless feel human again
UP-AND-COMING musician Gerald Petersen has bid farewell to a life of crime and now dedicates his time to feeding the homeless.
Petersen, who fell into gangsterism in his early teens, describes his former self as “an aggressive and angry young man”. Through music he was able to change his life by expressing repressed emotions and giving back to the community.
“As a man, in society you are expected to be hard, tough and suppress your emotions. Human beings are emotional beings, and when we suppress emotions it becomes toxic. Suppressed emotions result in crime and violence in men. Music changed my life because it allowed me to express myself and heal me,” said Petersen.
Petersen, currently completing a sociology degree, is also the co-founder of Hope Street, an NPO dedicated to aiding the homeless. The organisation serves meals to the homeless once a week and has successfully seen 10 homeless people off the streets and into safe shelters.
“I asked myself, ‘what I can do to help out?’ I started by buying loaves of bread for homeless people here and there, but I quickly realised that by giving hand-outs I am not fundamentally helping out. I instead decided to give them opportunities to better their situations.”
Petersen explained Hope Street was not an organisation that got homeless people off the streets, but one that gave them the opportunity to get themselves off the streets. “We assist the homeless by firstly building relationships with them and making them feel human again. We offer dignity through kindness and respect. We assist them in getting their IDs, getting them into safe spaces and shelters, and assisting them with their CVs.” Petersen will be releasing his single,
King of My Past, dedicated to all the fathers making a change this coming Father’s Day. His next single Ecstacy and the launching of the music video
Blessed will be launched next month. Vincent Damiano said Petersen encouraged him to live independently.
"I was staying at a shelter in Green Point when I heard from a friend about an organisation that serves soup in the area every Saturday, but also helps people get out of shelters. I went to meet them and they helped me.”