Homelessness is on the increase, with many vulnerable people from other provinces and neighbouring countries living hand-to-mouth on the streets of Pretoria and relying on the public to survive.
A police lieutenant-colonel by day and a good Samaritan by night, chaplain Dineo Sekgotodi, representing Medical and Community Chaplaincy, is feeding the needy and helping them find their way back home.
Sekgotodi started the initiative to help vulnerable and homeless people in Pretoria Central after hours and on weekends with zero budget and a few donations.
Pretoria faces rising homelessness
“By the grace of God, we managed to give more than 50 homeless people food at the Pretoria Central police station,” Sekgotodi said.
“People want to go back to their homes. I’m making this call to everyone who can assist in this regard with ideas and suggestions.
“I talk to them and I am busy creating a database with their profiles. Many of them want to go back home to their original countries and provinces.
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“There are people from Mozambique and Zimbabwe, some from Free State, Eastern Cape, Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and around Gauteng,” she said. Arcadia city improvement district manager Catherine Keyworth said she was seeing a huge increase in homelessness in Pretoria.
“There’s been a substantial shift. The social support systems are disintegrating, especially for mentally ill persons who are more at risk and need the most support. Honestly, I think so many people are on the edge of poverty,” she said.
Keyworth said Arcadia city improvement district’s school feeding scheme for one school has increased from 36 meals once a week to 45 meals three times a week.
Volunteers and chaplains provide food and help
“I think with the average members of the community, it’s you lose a job or have a reduction and then the situation snowballs.
“All those factors that used to be guarantees of success that used to mitigate your risk of hardship have fallen away,” she said.
Unchain Our Children’s Wayne van Onselen said homelessness in Pretoria was just getting worse.
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Van Onselen said many shelters were insufficient and not well-equipped.
“It is escalating due to people struggling with employment with the added extreme economic pressure on families,” he said.
Van Onselen added that substance abuse also made a big contribution to the homeless pandemic.
Substance abuse
“Due to substance abuse, many people are not looking for jobs, but resort to crime and live on the streets and sleep in the bush with their children, who aren’t going to school.” Van Onselen said that it added a series of additional issues.
“There are only a few people and organisations that help the homeless.
“We need more support.”
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