Durbanville neighbourhood watch tackles homelessness crisis
On 19 September, AfriForum’s Durbanville neighbourhood watch launched a project in this suburb to help identify nearly 30 homeless people in Durbanville and help them find alternative accommodation. This project was undertaken in collaboration with the City of Cape Town’s Department of Social Development and the non-profit organisation MES.
The project was focused on the large number of homeless people who sleep on pavements and in parks opposite the Durbanville police station and in the Durbanville business centre. The aim was to firstly identify the individuals and then, through the City of Cape Town and MES’s social services, help them find other places to live or to help them return to their families.
AfriForum’s Durbanville neighbourhood watch and the security company Civil Defence Force (CDF) provided protection during this project.
According to Richard Downing, a member of AfriForum’s Durbanville neighbourhood watch, homelessness is a huge problem in Cape Town. “There are estimated to be between 14 000 and 16 000 homeless people in Cape Town. Meanwhile, the AfriForum neighbourhood watch has noticed that in recent times there has also been an increase in the number of homeless people in Durbanville specifically. These people often come from other towns or even other provinces and then end up in Cape Town with nowhere to go,” explains Downing.
Meanwhile, AfriForum’s Durbanville neighbourhood watch has also apprehended several suspected criminals in the past few weeks and thus made a real contribution to the safety of this Cape Town suburb.
“Durbanville’s safety is our priority,” says Leendert Stoop, chairperson of AfriForum’s Durbanville branch and neighbourhood watch. “It is a privilege to be part of AfriForum’s neighbourhood watch because AfriForum already has a well-established and organised network of more than 160 neighbourhood watch structures nationwide. It is indisputable that AfriForum has experts in safety and has a strong legal team that supports and advises their neighbourhood watches. The Durbanville neighbourhood watch is well equipped, has recently undergone further training and has a dynamic and well-trained leadership structure. Furthermore, this branch succeeds in tackling the security situation in the residential area as well as the business centre purposefully and with success by means of structured patrols. We are going to continue the fight to ensure the safety of this neighbourhood,” concludes Stoop.
Members of the public are encouraged to join their nearest AfriForum neighbourhood watch to improve the security of their neighbourhood. Call Leendert Stoop on 074 513 6199 or send an email to voorsitter.durbanville@afriforumtak.co.za.
