Carlos Mesquita. Pictures: Brendan Magaar / Independent Newspapers
The City of Cape Town and its Mayor persist on acting as if their interventions for those living on the streets are based on a caring agenda.
Those of us who have been subjected to the City’s “caring” policy know this to be a blatant lie and an act they put on to ensure they don’t alienate residents who might just feel more compassion for those living on the street than the City does.
Many things have indeed changed for the better. Had you told me five years ago, when I lived on the streets, that the City would be forced to change their concept of Safe Spaces and the rules at these Safe Spaces, and all because of homeless activism that would see lawyers actually taking on cases representing those living on the streets against the City, I would have called you delusional.
When I lived on the streets five years ago, you were literally less than zero. You were persecuted and prosecuted just so you could be removed from the streets for three months at a time, while the Department of Correctional Services hosted you for a three-month stint.
The Turning Point: Strandfontein Camp
So how did we get to this point? The City would have you believe it’s the new, young, and energetic Mayor. And that is another blatant lie.
Things changed the day the City of Cape Town had the audacity to imprison those living on the streets at the now notorious Strandfontein camp during Covid-19. It was so bad that a group of us mobilised a tent of almost 600 individuals to stand up against what we were being subjected to.
Within six weeks, the City announced the camp’s closure. They started opening up the gates and even offering to transport us wherever we wanted to go—back onto the streets.
The Strandfontein Homeless Action Committee, as we had called ourselves, arranged for lawyers to take the City to court and demand that the City be forced to provide us with accommodation after the camp’s closure.
We wanted the City to accommodate us where they found us, under the Culemborg bridge. We won that case, and our demands saw to it that the Safe Space concept underwent its first facelift.
Improvements in Safe Spaces
No longer were people going to sleep like animals outside in the elements on pallets for beds, as was the case at Culemborg Safe Space 1. Organisations such as Community Chest, discussions such as the Inkathalo Conversations, The Cape Argus with its Dignity Project (of which my column is the feature), numerous other media houses, influential investigative television programmes such as Carte Blanche and Third Degree, and various others doing exposés, Ndifuna Ukwazi, some activists, and SERI have all played a huge role.
With every battle, the City was forced to give a little! Their attitude towards those living on the streets has never changed, but a show had to be put on to convince the public that the changes were all initiated by this new caring approach.
Without the pressure from all those mentioned above, we would not be where we are today. And that is how it still works!
A perfect example is the sudden launch of Safe Space 3 (Ebenezer) in Greenpoint on Monday this past week.
This had not been planned and was done under duress. This only happened because the Safe Space, which was going to be used to house the evictees meant to have been evicted today from seven sites in the CBD, was Culemborg Safe Space 1, exposed as a place riddled by human rights violations approximately a month ago.
SERI objected to their clients being relocated there. The City had no choice but to fast forward the Greenpoint Safe Space opening.
Legal and social interventions
The court has also blessed all those living on the streets by making it an order of the court that they alter the rules at the Safe Spaces that are unconstitutional—such as locking out residents during the day and separating couples.
The City would be well advised to change these rules ordered by the court for this group of residents, at all shelters and Safe Spaces, or face more court challenges in the not-too-distant future.
“The Western Cape Division of the High Court in Cape Town ruling on the evictions stated that the City needed to offer alternative accommodation to the people who would be removed from the seven sites. At the time the order was handed down, the evictees were going to be offered places at the city’s Safe Space One shelter under the Culemborg Bridge on the Cape Town Foreshore,” according to Nkosinathi Sithole, senior attorney at Socio-Economic Rights Institute.
“The issues that we had were with the relocation (of people) to Safe Space One, which pertained to the conditions at Safe Space One. These included people sleeping outside and it not being a closed shelter, exposing people to the elements. Now, an agreement that we are reaching with the municipality is that our clients will no longer be relocated to Safe Space One but will be relocated to Safe Space Three. Those who live with partners will go to Safe Space Two,” said Sithole.
“In light of this new agreement, the eviction will have to be staggered, meaning that there won’t be an eviction this week until people are relocated.”
Sithole said that 127 unhoused persons had accepted the offer of alternative accommodation at Safe Space Three in Green Point, which the city has named the Ebenezer Safe Space. Another 13 couples will be accommodated at Safe Space Two under the Culemborg Bridge.
According to the Socio-Economic Rights Institute, one of the conditions that the City needed to meet to evict the occupants of the seven sites was to amend the shelter rules to make them more “constitutionally compliant.”
“After the amendments, partners will not be separated into gender‑segregated accommodation but will be allowed to live together; shelter residents will not be locked out during the day; and people will not be limited to six months living at the safe spaces if they do not have alternative accommodation,” it said.
Yes, things have changed, but do not for one moment think the City’s approach to homelessness and the homeless has changed, because it has not. That is why the problem keeps getting bigger.
There is no will or desire from the City to uplift, empower, and reintegrate those living on the streets. They don’t believe it’s possible! They still blame the homeless for being homeless and see every homeless person as an addict and a criminal.
* Carlos Mesquita is an activist for the homeless and a researcher working in the Western Cape Legislature for the GOOD Party.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media or IOL.
IOL Opinion