One of the partnerships that the Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID) has established over the years is with NGO, Khulisa Social Solutions. This collaboration continues to yield positive results and has become a testament to what can be achieved by working together.
According to Tasso Evangelinos, CEO of the CCID, the partnership with Khulisa was a natural fit due to the NGO’s focus on work-based rehabilitation for the chronically homeless and creating diversion programmes that enable minor offenders to upskill themselves towards gainful employment, with the ultimate aim of reintegrating into society and away from what could otherwise become a spiral of crime.
The CCID’s Social Development similarly engages with the Central City’s most vulnerable on a daily basis, concentrating much of its effort on assisting streetpeople towards the services they need and, most importantly, forming partnerships that will alleviate the CBD’s own challenges.
Pat Eddy, the CCID’s Social Development manager, shares Tasso’s sentiments: “Having someone as passionate as Jesse Laitinen – manager of strategic partnerships at Khulisa – coming on board back in 2015 and having an NGO partner whose approach is all about empowerment through the building of skills, the targeting of behaviour and giving individuals responsibility so that they become functional, was a turning point. And it has been wonderful to see, over time, how the Khulisa model has been successful in taking some of our clients, who are often perceived as ‘difficult’ and who are dealing with a lot challenges, move towards rehabilitation and a sense of purpose and belonging.”
Jesse philosophy on partnerships is a straightforward one: “To eat an elephant, you get a lot of hungry partners together to help you instead of trying to eat it bite by bite on your own; otherwise, it will get rotten before you get to the end.
“Social development is often like the big elephant. So, it’s helpful to look at how a complex issue, such as how the outcome of multiple lifelong problems, needs to be tackled. One project or agency can seldom do it all. We need partners to tackle different parts of the issue. And to develop to our best potential, we need our physiological needs met, but we also have many softer needs that are just as important; the need for routine and structure, a sense of belonging and a sense of achievement. You can only do this through partnerships, which we have done with the CCID and other organisations we collaborate with.”
Some of the programmes that Khulisa and the CCID have partnered on include the following:
- The Khulisa Streetscapes programme aimed at the chronic homeless and repeat offenders who are often unable to stay at shelters due to heavy drinking or drug use. For this group, Khulisa advocates for sheltered employment with many opportunities existing within the green economy, such as urban gardening and recycling projects. The CCID assisted with the identification of suitable participants from among its own street clients for the pilot project when it started back in February 2015 and also contributed towards the costs of a programme coordinator, a part-time trainer, a part-time substance abuse counsellor, and obtaining IDs for participants. And when the City of Cape Town’s Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) three-month term to provide stipends for participants in the programme came to an end, the CCID then funded additional stipends beyond this period to ensure the sustainability of the project.
- The strength of the partnership with Khulisa has also seen the collaboration cross over from CCID Social Development – to its Urban Management department. In August 2017, the CCID teamed up with Khulisa to provide structured work opportunities for social development clients on Greenmarket Square.
- December 2017 also saw the Urban Management department and Khulisa collaborating on a pilot project (which has since been rolled out permanently) to tackle waste removal in Long Street. Known as the ”bin project”, it not only creates work opportunities for streetpeople and – via Khulisa – provides participants with valuable social services, it also combats litter in the CBD
Says Jesse: “As the economy fails to absorb individuals, they become the burden of the state and families. Many families living in 70% unemployment and widespread poverty simply can’t absorb all family members and the state is equally struggling to cater for the large numbers of the needy beyond the very basic needs.
“In this difficult space, innovative solutions and partnerships by civil society and the business community are crucial, and Streetscapes is one such social innovative project.”
A firm believer that charity and handouts are not the solution, Jesse is encouraging both individual members of the public as well as corporates to consider sponsoring Streetscapes participants so that more will be able to participate in the programme and receive a stipend: “Sponsoring someone in a Streetscapes project is more than short-term rehab work. It’s about finding a safe and stable home, improving one’s physical and mental health, addressing substance use and reconnecting with families, healing of old wounds. It’s not just about healing an individual in need, but healing where the whole system is at fault. And it is usually a long-term commitment.
“As a result, these individuals change from being a burden on taxpayers to becoming taxpayers themselves. Our beneficiaries contribute financially towards their children, are present in their lives and are therefore able to begin to break the cycle of generational poverty. Plus, through projects like community gardens, they add value to our city by providing nutritious high-quality affordable vegetables while projects such as those being run on Greenmarket Square and Long Street result in a cleaner urban environment.
“Unlike what is commonly thought, street people are highly motivated to work; attendance rates are over 90% and they are motivated to move off the streets. The problem is lack of affordable housing for low-earning workers, but we are being innovative around this too. There are solutions; it is not utopian to dream of a fabulous city for all of us.”
To inquire about Streetscapes and to sponsor a Streetscape participant, contact Khulisa on 021 465 6112 or visit www.khulisa.org.za.
Images by Khulisa Social Solutions and Ed Suter