New shelter for hundreds of homeless people opens in Green Point

City of Cape Town official Megan Pangeni and Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis toured the City’s new 300-bed Safe Space in Green Point on Monday. Photos: Matthew Hirsch / GroundUp

A new 300-bed shelter for homeless people in Green Point run by the City of Cape Town opened its doors on Monday, 29 July 2024.

This is one of five Safe Spaces for homeless people funded by the City.

The site for the shelter, at the municipal depot on Ebenezer Road, was approved by the City’s municipal planning tribunal in July last year following extensive public participation.

Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis described the shelter as “beautiful” and said he hoped it would become “a place of life and restoration” for those who used it.

“We were really nervous about whether this would get community support and buy-in. We took several months to do public participation. In the end, we had lots of input and feedback with only one formal objection,” he added.

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Speaking at the opening on Monday was Showen Loeks, who previously lived in Witbank. He said he had been a skilled technician but had stopped working and become homeless after his wife’s death.

Loeks said he had lived in a City Safe Space from October 2023 until April. He had access to services, hot meals and skills training which all helped him get back on his feet and move into his own apartment.

He urged people not to be too quick to judge people living and sleeping on the street.

This is one of five shelters funded by the City.

The City operates two Safe Spaces at Culemborg in the city centre with about 510 beds, one in Paint City Bellville with 220 beds, and one in Durbanville with 40 beds.

A new Safe Space is on the cards to serve the greater Muizenberg area. However, the proposed site, near Surfer’s Corner, has sparked some concern among locals and business owners. In a statement, Simon Roberts, chair of the Muizenberg Improvement District (MID) said that the MID supported the shelter but was concerned about the proposed location as it could affect tourism and economic activity.

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On Monday Mayor Hill-Lewis said he hoped residents’ organisations would see the value the shelter could add in the south peninsula.

“There are hundreds, if not thousands, of complaints about homelessness and the impact on communities. The City has developed this as a caring and sustainable part of the solution. You cannot have on the one hand, communities complaining all day about homelessness, and also object to the solution to homelessness,” he said.

He said the City was also looking for a site in the Tokai-Bergvliet area.

This article was originally published on GroundUp.

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