The Muizenberg Improvement District (MID), as part of their social development policy, has a part-time Social Development Officer focusing on support and development resources and referral networks for street people/children, day strollers and the homeless.
The MID promotes responsible giving and practical support to street people.We know you want to help, but PLEASE DO NOT GIVE MONEY or any direct support to children who beg. See other ways to help below.
The role of the social development team is to engage and record the needs of street people in order to assist them with access to the necessary services, in collabortion with referral partners and stakeholders. In this way the MID offers strategic support and can implement a workable protocol for social development which is one of four mandated top-up services an improvement district should provide in collaboration with City and Provincial departments.
Contact Michael Lategan the ops manager
Email: ops@mid.org.za
Tel: 082 4631525
If you see a homeless person in distress, you can also contact the City’s dedicated call centre for homelessness on 0800 872 201 for assistance.
Handouts don’t help
Hand-outs compound dependency and keep the homeless on the street. Residents and visitors continually bring them food, alcohol, bedding, old clothes and discarded furniture. As a result Muizenberg is becoming known as a good place for homeless people to come to and the problem escalates. Instead of handouts, there are many other ways you can make a difference – Newly arrived homeless people need lifts to shelters. If you would like to give financial or practical support to focused programmes that uplift the homeless, please contact the MID Social Development Officer, Tasneeem Hoosain socialdevelopment@mid.org.za
We know you care. We know you want to help, but PLEASE DO NOT GIVE MONEY or any other direct support to children who beg.
We know you care. We know you want to help, but PLEASE DO NOT GIVE MONEY or any other direct support to children who beg.Giving money to children who beg, park cars or are part of a music or dance group encourages these children to stay out of school, leave home and become street children.
Begging promotes trafficking, exploitation and the abuse of vulnerable children. It introduces children to street life, substance abuse and drug addiction. It also makes them vulnerable to sexual exploitation.
Giving direct support, like food and clothing does not help as it is sold or exchanged for drugs. It also keeps children out of the services set up to help them and affirms street life as the right choice.
The Western Cape has a comprehensive set of statutory and other support services – specialised organisations that assist chronically abused, neglected, exploited and vulnerable children drifting towards street life. Begging offers children no hope and no future.
For more information please contact the Western Cape Street Children’s Forum www.wcscf.co.za
