CCID Social Development manager Pat Eddy tells us about the latest initiatives for supporting the homeless and other street people.
There are a variety of shelters and services for street people in Cape Town, a number of which the CCID’s Social Development team work with daily. While many of the CBD’s homeless access these services, others are reluctant. The latter tend to be those who have been on the streets for a particularly long time and who may have lost hope or trust in the system. They are the so-called “chronic homeless”.
As a caring CBD, how do we ensure those who need it most volunteer to seek help? The answer may lie in a transitional housing programme pioneered in San Francisco, California, and known as Navigation Centers. Run by the city’s Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, it provides otherwise unsheltered San Franciscans room and board while case managers work to connect them to income, public benefits, health services, shelter and, yes, housing.
Like Cape Town, San Francisco has a high level of homelessness. Unlike Cape Town, where there has been a tendency to “wish it away”, San Francisco has taken the bull by the horns. Its Navigation Centers are different from traditional shelters in that they have few barriers to entry and intensive case management. And unlike traditional shelters, people with partners, pets and possessions are welcome.
The first Navigation Center, which opened in March 2015, has proved popular with homeless residents who have been reluctant to go to traditional shelters. It plays a role in acclimatising clients to the municipal system, linking them with support services, and preparing them for moves into permanent housing.
A June 2016 evaluation of this pilot revealed some interesting statistics about its participants. The majority, 61%, had been homeless for one to five years. However, a significant amount had been homeless for longer, with 10% over 16 years. 78% of those who exited the Navigation Center went home or to permanent housing. At the six-month mark, the average length of stay for clients who exited the centre into permanent housing was 57 days.
Other Navigation Centers have since opened in California, together bring over 1 150 vulnerable people off the streets, with 72% of them having exited to housing. The centres themselves have received a warm welcome in many neighbourhoods, which have embraced the concept.
The good news for Cape Town’s homeless population is that the City is considering a similar pre-shelter facility. A pilot safe space is set to open in the Culemborg area of the Foreshore in September. Funded by the City, it will provide the homeless at night with a place to sleep, eat and do laundry. It will also give them lockers to store their belongings and access to work programmes. As an initial outreach, it could persuade a user of the space to commit to a developmental plan.
The CCID supports this project, especially as many of our clients have identified a need for a safe space. In fact, we have tried to identify a suitable space for vulnerable people for some time.
The project could face some challenges, though, as there is currently no local best-practise model for the pilot to draw from. So, it is critical the City take into account input from the NGOs who render services to street people, as well as from potential users of the space. It is essential, also, to consider the uniqueness of each person and to move at their pace without trying to find one-size-fits-all solutions.
Pictured: Mission Street’s Navigation Center in San Francisco, California