Portland foundation prioritises safety and development
The Portland Community Safety and Development Foundation is making great strides in fostering a culture of active citizenship and neighbourliness.
The foundation, a registered non-profit organisation, initially started working in Block H, between Morgenster, Eisleben, Wespoort and Merrydale roads. Its reach now stretches to other sections of Portland too.
Ashwin Johnson, chairperson of Portland Community Safety and Development Foundation, has been a driving force behind the organisation’s efforts to create safer spaces for the community.
“When we started the organisation in 2022, one of the terrors was that of people jumping on roofs. Other issues were hub cap theft, people roaming the streets late at night for no reason, loitering and gambling on the streets.
“We had a choice to say people don’t want to listen or to consider that they are in need of help. We decided to take the approach that the community was in need of help and started the organisation,
“We want to create a culture of neighbourliness, where I must be comfortable that if something happens in my house, my neighbour must be the first person on my doorstep to assist and vice versa,” he said.
A social services professional, Mr Johnson advocates for a people-centric approach to community safety.
“We need to change the way we approach community policing and safety. When we look at the person who is abusing substances, we need to look at what is the need? Is there a developmental need? Has there been trauma and abuse before that the person has not had an opportunity to speak about? Or has the person spoken about it but no one has heard the person, and this is why the person chose this route of dealing and coping with their trauma?
“We must have a different outlook on how we do safety. In the end, we as safety volunteers must work with people in a certain manner,” he said.
Apart from its safety focus, the foundation regularly logs and follows up on residents’ municipal service delivery issues with the City of Cape Town. It has two WhatsApp group chats, with 1089 members, that focus just on crime and municipal services issues.
Mr Johnson said there have been several safety and service delivery improvements.
“We have less loitering and more police visibility. Currently, we have no gambling in Block H. We have recently had success with the issue of lane closures that have been coming on since 2007, which was never followed up. We kept the City accountable, followed through on it, and now all the lanes have been closed.
“If you don’t see a services being delivered for more than a week or two, the onus is on you to log it. It takes less than two minutes to do it. Your reference number is your tool to hold the City to account. ,“ he said.
The foundation also manages a business group chat, which has 683 members, and one for job opportunities, which has 1 023 members. It has helped to secure employment for more than 50 Portland residents in the past two years.
“If every home has someone with a job, regardless of how little income there is, at least they can buy some flour and make vetkoek for the family to eat that night. So far, 52 people have received jobs after we connected them with potential employers.
“We also ensure that we get our people into developmental programmes and jobs. We have five members from our organisation who have successfully completed a basic NQF Level 4 lay counselling course so that at any given time, when there is a need in the community, those are the people who will go and assist them,” said Mr Johnson.
Paul Momberg, a long standing member of the Portland Neighbourhood Watch, has called on residents to continue working towards creating safer communities all over Mitchell’s Plain.
“People must come together and find common grounds. It’s not about who leads the team and who is in charge. It is about coming together with open minds, let’s make Mitchell’ Plain safe again.
“We encourage people to join the neighbourhood watches for their safety and that of their children. The message is that it is all about feeling safe,” Mr Momberg added.