Eight group homes for 70 people with intellectual disabilities could soon close if the cash-strapped non-profit organisation that runs them fails to raise R1 million by the end of June.
This is according to Stuart Chadderton, of Pinelands, the chairman of the board of trustees for Includid Group Homes, who says much of the funding they relied on from donors has dried up in the poor economy, leaving the organisation in financial peril.
“Up until now, we have managed to get donations from various private organisations and companies, but due to the current financial climate within the country, this is becoming more and more difficult. If we close, we would, in effect, be putting 70 people, mentally challenged people, out onto the street. Clearly, this can’t be allowed to happen.”
Includid’s homes, situated on the Alexandra Hospital grounds, in Maitland, aim to give the residents as normal a life as possible. They get meals, a home environment, medical support, 24-hour care, occupational training, social interaction, a form of work and remuneration.
Each resident is, to some extent, mentally challenged and in quite a number of cases physically challenged as well, said Mr Chadderton.
Includid started in 1997 as a partnership of the Former Friends of Alexandra, the province’s psychiatric hospitals and the provincial health department to deal with the de-institutionalisation of people with intellectual disabilities from the Alexandra and Lentegeur hospitals, many of whom had lived in hospitals for much of their lives and had no family to return to.
Mr Chadderton said Includid received the residents’ R1750 state grants and some funding from the provincial Department of Social Development, but it was not enough to cover the costs of running the eight homes, including the salaries for 27 staff.
“We have been running at a deficit of R700 000, and with no other source of income, we are not able to take on more debt,” he said.
One of Includid’s homes was sold for R1.8 million in 2020 to keep the organisation afloat, but Mr Chadderton said that money had run out and appeals to the Province and City for additional funding had been in vain.
Sending the residents back to Alexander Hospital was not a solution, he said, adding, “This is presupposing that Alexander Hospital is able to take 70 additional patients.
“I do not believe that it is reasonable in our society that these people be the responsibility of a group of volunteers, nor is it reasonable that they be dependent on donations from private organisations.”
Monique Mortlock-Malgas, a spokeswoman for Social Development MEC Sharna Fernandez, said they had been subsidising Includid for almost 20 years and were unable to raise the subsidy due to budgetary constraints.
The department was aware of Includid’s plight and had helped the organisation get one of its homes compliant with occupational health and safety requirements, she said.
The department had a three-year funding cycle where qualifying NGOs could submit funding proposals for social welfare and community development services and the next call for proposals would happen later this year, she said.
