We need to foster a culture of giving vouchers instead of cash to people living on the streets, says a non-profit company that helps the homeless.
At a community meeting, held by the Belvedere East Civic Association at the Batavia School in Claremont, last Thursday, Stephen Underwood, from U-Turn, urged the public to give responsibly, and he explained the four-step programme U-Turn uses to give the homeless a hand up and not a handout.
In step one, the homeless redeem Mi-Change vouchers for either food, clothing, a shower or shelter at U-Turn’s facility in Claremont, setting them on the path to change. The vouchers can also be earned daily by homeless participating in support groups. The public can buy a booklet of four Mi-Change vouchers for R50 online or at various partner organisations and businesses listed at www.michange.org
In step two, the homeless go through a rehab programme, backed by the City, for three to four months.
“In this phase, we partner with the City to provide this service to the homeless – addiction being one of the biggest challenges the homeless face.”
When the homeless produce clean drug tests, they move to stage three, which provides them with a work opportunity with on-the-job training, ongoing therapy and relapse prevention. They work four days a week, from 8.30am to 5pm, with one day of personal development where they meet with counsellors and case workers to help them deal with any issues that arise.
In the fourth and final phase, the participants in the programme secure an independent job.
According to Mr Underwood, the programme can take between a year to two years and 80% of those who complete it remain sober and employed.
“We have spent the past 25 years refining this model and believe that we have a successful model that works. This is evident through our success stories over the years.”
Mr Underwood said while there were many kind-hearted people who gave because they wanted to help, handouts only encouraged someone to stay on the streets.
“Giving food, money or clothing is more harmful as this keeps them on the streets. You can help them today but what about tomorrow and the next day? The vouchers provide the basic needs but also teach them how to fish.
“The mentality of those living on the streets is that it is someone else’s responsibility to take care of them. Yes, there are some who simply throw the vouchers away, but do not be swayed by this. We saw in lockdown when people had no choice but to use our services how our numbers had increased. And ever since lockdown, there has been an uptake in our numbers.”
U-Turn spokeswoman Cathy Achilles told how the programme had helped her overcome homelessness.
“There are so many success stories of U-Turn graduates, myself being one of them,” she said.
BECA chairwoman Kath Kenyon said the programme helped to “empower the homeless in a responsible manner”.
