Letter: Reader praises Better Bedfordview for making a difference

Editor – I would like to congratulate Sharon Mdaka on her outstanding article about Better Bedfordview which was published in the issue of January 29.

It provides so much insight into what Better Bedordview does for our community for a subscription fee of only R200 per month.

They maintain our neighbourhood, they support businesses and charities and they provide entertainment for the whole family with their fundraising events.

They also create employment and provide their workers with marketable skills.

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The difference that they are making in our community is immeasurable.

I also enjoyed reading the workers’ views.

We see the ‘guys in green’ working on our roads every day. It’s so nice that we now know their names.

I’m amazed by the work that they do in spite of the harsh circumstances the peak traffic volumes and the impatient drivers!

I’m especially impressed by the pothole repairs that they’ve done over the past year. They are still intact despite the number of cars that drive on our roads every day.

Their work is exceptional!

Thank you so much for including EMPD’s view on the homeless situation.

We now know who is responsible for removing them in a way that is respectful of their rights and in keeping with the law.

It is an uphill battle, but this section provides a good idea of how it is being handled and whom we should refer to if we have complaints about the homeless.

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I am active on many of our neighbourhood’s Facebook and WhatsApp groups.

We often have very passionate and heated debates about whether or not we should give money, food and other items to the homeless.

Like many people in our neighbourhood, I am sensitive to their plight.

They are human beings and are also part of our community.

However, over the past few years, RAG, the SAPS and other organisations have done extensive research on the homeless who live on our streets, and many of them suffer from drug and alcohol addictions.

Many residents have seen them shooting up in public.

I’ve also seen them smoking and drinking alcohol.

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Although other people’s habits are not normally my concern, they matter to me when they lead to aggressive and criminal behaviour, this has happened countless times.

As a human being and responsible citizen, I refuse to enable an addiction that I know will keep them homeless and that endangers not only their safety and well-being but those of everybody else in the community.

When we use our hard-earned money to support and subscribe to initiatives like Better Bedfordview, everybody wins.

The entire community benefits and those benefits filter right through to the homeless.

Here’s how:

1. They support businesses in the area.

When businesses team up with them as part of the Better Bedfordview loyalty programme, they get more customers.

The more people support the businesses in our area, the better it is for our local economy.

When we boost our local economy, the more jobs we create and the better able we are to help the most vulnerable members of our community in a way that makes a positive difference.

2. Better Bedfordview also supports local entrepreneurs and craftspeople in the area.

3. Every business and entrepreneur that Better Bedfordview teams up with supports other businesses, such as their suppliers and service providers.
4. They support various charities and initiatives throughout the year.

These charities not only provide essential services to our community, but they also run just like any other business.
They hire staff, use service providers and continue the economic cycle.

5. They maintain our suburb.

This improves its desirability and boosts our property values.

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This makes it attractive to business and residential investors.

The more money our neighbourhood attracts, the more money there is to spend on essential social services.

The more our local economy improves, the more disposable income people will have to donate to charities, especially soup kitchens and other projects that are there to help the homeless.

6. As individuals, we can only give money to a limited number of homeless people.

That money is likely to be used to keep them homeless and addicted. However, when we subscribe to Better Bedfordview, we invest in our community’s economy and every business that is part of the loyalty programme.

7. Better Bedfordview hires unemployed people as part of their maintenance team.

They provide them with marketable skills which they can use to earn a living for the rest of their lives.

Better Bedfordview does all of this for a subscription of only R200 per month.

The value for money that we get as community members and subscribers is beyond words.

For more info, go to www.betterbedfordview.org.za

Thank you so much, Better Bedfordview, for everything that you do, and to the Bedfordview and Edenvale News for keeping us up to date and giving a wonderful platform to the organisations and people in our area who are going above and beyond for all of us and doing fantastic work for our communities!
I look forward to every issue.

Andrea Altgayer