Central SA
‘People are living on streets for different reasons’ – VIDEOS─── KEKELETSO MOSEBETSI 12:06 Thu, 13 Jul 2023
The acting Head of the Department of Social Development in the Free State, Tumelo Phahlo, said people living on the streets should not be judged.
Phahlo said this at the event the provincial government organised to assist the homeless people of Mangaung.
The department will be handing out clothes, shoes, mattresses, blankets and food.
In an event held at the Seventh Adventist Church in Fairview Street, Bloemfontein, Phahla said people living on the streets must not be stigmatised with drugs as they are not homogeneous and are on the streets for various reasons. He detailed that others came here to find jobs but ended up living under bridges, others found their homes sold when they came out of prison, others finished matric and don't know where to go, and others need medical intervention. He further said that they should be respected and treated with dignity as they have rights like everyone.
"We found a girl who is 17 years and is pregnant. As the Department of Social Development, we want to carry out our mandate. Gender-based Violence and Femicide on the streets need to be addressed. Issues of STI on the street and all those challenging issues on the streets is the work of government that cares," he said.
Phahla revealed that they will be working with other departments as part of the long-term intervention programme. This after stating that the provincial government learned from its flaws when Covid-19 struck the country in 2020.
"Covid-19 has exposed the fault lines, it showed us that government does not have a plan as far as people who are sleeping on the streets. And government cannot afford to continue this way and hopes that the problem of the homeless will disappear. It won't go away, Freedom is freedom for all and the benefits of freedom should be the benefits of the homeless," he added.
Phahla said the department will be handing out clothes, shoes, mattresses, blankets and food. He further revealed that the Department of Social Development will also have a second phase of taking homeless people to the farms to work, those who need medical attention will be provided with such and skill development programmes will also be provided.
