A simple sequence of events – the death of her husband-to-be, a move from Johannesburg to Cape Town, a job opportunity that didn’t work out and her son developing a drug habit – landed Delice Hopkins on the streets of Cape Town in 2009. It took her four years of survival, resourcefulness and faith to get back on her feet.
“I remember the first night. I had to face the fact that my whole life as I knew it was now gone. You think – and excuse me for the generalisation but this is what I thought – it is only the low-class, the poor, the destitute, the criminals, the drug addicts and the scum of the earth who squat, not people like me.”
Delice Hopkins (55), who was born and raised in Cape Town, worked as a radio operator and communicator for the Navy. In 2000, with the prospect of a second marriage, she resigned from her job. But the death of her fiance 10 days before the wedding kick-started a chain reaction of events that eventually led to that first night of 14 months of squatting in a building in the Waterfront.
But this, too, was temporary: in June 2010, while South Africa was captivated by soccer fever, Delice, her son and their adopted rescue dog Sheila were evicted from the building. Now they were truly living on the streets: the nomadic wander from sleeping spot to sleeping spot, trying to find a safe space to spend the time.
Having Sheila meant that they couldn’t be taken in by the shelters. Nevertheless, Delice praises the efforts of shelters. “You can always get food from the shelters,” she says. “That is why I get so angry when people on the street beg for money for food. The Haven in Napier Street and District Six, St George’s Cathedral and Scalabrini all serve meals. At The Haven you can get breakfast, lunch and supper – not necessarily inside, but once the residents have been fed, as long as you have your container ready you can have a meal. There are a few restaurants, which I shall not name, that give you what is left over at closing time.”
She also remembers how, despite great difficulty, she tried to keep up appearances. “All I wanted was a job so I tried to maintain my appearance. I may not have had a bath every day but at least once a week I’d save up my pennies for a shower at the Long Street Baths. In between I’d take a bucket bath. When you walk around, the disabled toilets are also great because they have a big space and a basin.”
A real low point, however, was her first night alone on the street without her son, who’d been providing a measure of companionship and safety, when he was taken in by her ex-husband and sent to live in Port Elizabeth. Luckily, a chance meeting with a friend at the District Six Haven shelter, who in turn introduced her to Poppie Salim (pictured together above) at the Adderley Street flower market, led to a 16-month stint working and staying at the market. She also began selling flowers at The Palms Market in Woodstock every second Saturday, and things started to look up.
On 13 June 2011 she moved into a faith-based rehabilitation centre in Milnerton. During her time here she made several contacts that have led to work opportunities recycling broken jewellery and book-keeping for two companies. Finally, in December 2012, she took the leap to rent a room, a place of her own, for her and Sheila. But, since then, two of the companies she’d worked for went bust and she’s back to only doing book-keeping for two days a week. Yet she stands firm in her belief that God will provide. Despite the precariousness of her position, Delice has ambitions to study Christian counselling, has enrolled to do an online course and has also set up her own employment agency.
She believes that part of the lesson of this journey has been to lose her own arrogant pride: “I now see that arrogance and judgment in people when they look at me, and I feel sorry for them because I know that next week it could happen to them. On the other hand, some of the people I’ve met during this time have been wonderful. Often the people who help have got nothing themselves. Street strollers often gave me money to feed my dog, and people with very little would share their food with me. If only more people could see past the cover of the book and read the story inside.”
How can you help?
The Central City Improvement District's GIVE RESPONSIBLY campaign looks to help those who help the homeless best. Contact our NGO partners and see how you can help them too, view their details here.
This article first appeared in the March 2013 issue of City Views. Read it online.
Words: Alma Viviers
Photo: Sydelle Willow Smith