The Cape Town Central City Improvement District’s (CCID) annual “Show you care” winter drive comes to a close at the end of September.
Launched in June 2018, the three-month-long “Show you care” winter drive, run by the CCID’s Social Development department together with the CCID’s Communications department, not only aims to raise public awareness about the plight of streetpeople during the colder months but also raises awareness about the work carried out by the social development team. The department engages daily with the Central City’s most vulnerable individuals and forms partnerships that will alleviate the CBD’s own challenges.
As a result of the engagements that the CCID’s social team facilitates, a number of street people have been reunited with their families, while others have been directed towards appropriate rehabilitation or medical care, job opportunities or a skills development programme as well assistance in securing a safe place for the night.
Says Pat Eddy, manager of CCID Social Development: “Every year, my team and I are heartened by the positive response towards the winter drive programme. However, this year’s response was overwhelming and we’re grateful for the interest shown, the support and willingness from organisations and individuals in the CBD and beyond to assist our community living on the streets. We’re grateful to members of the public who, since the start of July 2018, have made donations via SnapScan and EFT to the value of R11 492. On behalf of my team and the CCID as a whole, I’d also like to thank The Belmond Mount Nelson Hotel, Mandela Rhodes Place Hotel, Seeff, Clarke’s Bar & Dining Room, Happy Space and the CCID’s own staff for supporting the winter drive.
“This year’s campaign was also significant as it coincided with the opening of the much-needed Safe Space project, an initiative of the City of Cape Town’s Social Development and Early Childhood Development Department. This made a considerable difference as it enabled our team of fieldworkers to offer their clients an alternative to sleeping on the streets of the Central City. In another significant development, one of our partner NGOs, The Carpenter’s Shop, secured funding for three months from the City of Cape Town’s Department of Social and Early Childhood Development to provide shelter facilities to 15 people who would ordinarily live on the street. These 15 beds were offered to participants from the Streetscapes programme, run by Khulisa Social Solutions, also one of our partner NGOs.”
Many of the NGOs the CCID’s Social Development department works with look to assist adults living on the streets with shelter (when it is available), as well as food and social services, while others ensure that children are afforded the necessary care and protection. The donations that the CCID receives are distributed predominantly to the NGOs with whom the CCID team works the closest, namely The Homestead, Ons Plek, Youth Solutions Africa, The Carpenter's Shop, Khulisa Social Solutions, Straatwerk, U-turn Homeless Ministries, The Haven, and TB HIV Care. However, a number of donations go much further afield to other NGOs as well in the greater Cape Town area.
As part of the winter drive, the CCID’s Social Development partnered with Youth Solutions Africa once again, providing an additional 32 bed spaces at the NGO’s Woodstock facility as well as blankets, food and social services for three months. The department also distributed 2 000 care bags to partner NGOs and donated 420 pairs of shoes. In addition, 300 sleeper bags and 600 care bags were donated to the City’s Safe Space project.
Pat adds: “While the campaign officially comes to an end this month, we have a number of cold winter months clearly still ahead of us and the challenges that our community living on the streets face are a year-round issue. Therefore, we promote the ‘Show you care’ message each and every day. As such, we encourage those who still wish to assist or make a monetary donation to SMS “give” to 38088 to donate R10 or make a SnapScan donation of any amount of their choosing via a smart phone. For the latter, just download the free app and scan the code below. Alternatively, donors can make an EFT payment, the details of which, along with terms and conditions for all donations received, can be found at www.showyoucare.co.za.
You can read about all the organisations and individuals that “showed care” in the latest issue of the CCID’s quarterly newspaper, City Views.
Images by Clarke's Bar & Dining Room and Scott Arendse