THE Kloof SAPS trauma room officially opened its doors for the public on Monday, 1 December.
For the past few months one of the prefab buildings at the station had a massive revamp and upgrade after appeals for help were published in the Highway Mail and the Hilltop. The need for a working and fully equipped trauma room was realised after a youngster needed a place to stay for the night after a harrowing kidnapping experience.
Nikki Mohlmann of the Kloof CPF jumped into action and spurred the project on. “This was something that the Upper Highway area was in desperate need of and having it complete, I can’t even begin to express my appreciation to the community that banded together to help achieve this,” said Nikki.
The revamp was spearheaded by Acutts Hillcrest and the building, which consists of a debrief room and overnight room, was completely gutted and the walls were repaired by ACT. Once that was complete, the smaller changes were made to the building to give it a calm and homely feel, such as a fresh coat of paint on the walls to donations of books, furniture, rape and survival kits as well as plush toys for children. Xpanda donated a security gate, Hillcrest Tile was brought in to tile and carpet the rooms and Andre van Heerden from Pleasantair donated an air conditioner.
“Through SA Can we met Nikki and she told us what she aimed to achieve and as an office, we chose this as our project,” said Deborah Snyman, principal of Acutts Hillcrest. The team worked tirelessly on weekends sewing, painting, trimming and cleaning to ensure that it was in top shape for the community to use. “It has allowed us to do something for others who are less fortunate.”
The trauma room is open to anyone who was a victim of any form of trauma, which include hijackings, rape, suicide and trauma. “At the trauma room we do not counsel, we debrief residents and help create a sense of order and calm. If need be we also remove the person from the problem. Should there be a case of domestic violence, which is prevalent in the Highway area, we can give them a place to stay and a sense of safety as they are quite literally on the police’s doorstep,” said Nikki. Since it has been open, it has been used at least 15 times and has a team of five trauma debriefers who work in association with the Open Door Crisis and Care Centre.
“We are in desperate need of a donation of a toilet for the trauma room. If anyone is willing to make a donation, please contact me on 076 082 9774,” said Nikki.
