Plea for ratepayers to help homeless

Tshwane is pleading with ratepayers to help the homeless community in the metro.

It has asked local businesses and residents to extend a helping hand and donate food and other necessary items to homeless shelters.

Such assistance would be managed through the Tshwane Food Bank, created in 2010 to help those in need.

Deputy Mayor Nasiphi Moya said multiple organisations in Tshwane that serve homeless people were facing delays in getting provincial grants in the current financial year.

According to Moya, the setbacks experienced by non-profit organisations (NPOs) have been linked to a change in the administration of grants by the Gauteng provincial government.

“This has led to delayed payments, which will result in many organisations [being] crippled within weeks as funding runs out,” Moya said.

“In a meeting attended by Gauteng Department of Social Development officials, it came to our attention that there are about eight homeless shelter organisations operating in the Tshwane region. Only six of these NPOs have had access to funding, while others languish to scrape by to continue their efforts at feeding the homeless.”

She said the University of Pretoria’s Unit for Street Homelessness alerted Tshwane about the struggles faced by these NPOs.

“There was an overwhelming need for food items that could help the NPOs weather the financial storm.”

Moya added that Tshwane has a food bank that was created in 2010 to help those in need.

She said the food bank works with a small budget.

“Tshwane has heard the plight of centres that cater for the homeless, but with our limited budget we cannot possibly fill the gap left by yet-to-be-paid Gauteng grants,” she said.

Moya urged businesses to donate food items to help homeless shelters continue feeding Tshwane’s homeless population while they wait for funding.

She said food items are directly donated to the Tshwane Food Bank, located at 450 President Burger Street, Pretoria.

“These items will be collected directly by homeless shelters and an inventory of accountability will be kept to ensure that everyone in need is assisted,” Moya added.

Businesses and residents can donate the following items:

– bottled water
– soup
– tea bags
– soya mince
– cooking oil
– powder milk
– canned beans
– samp
– canned pilchards
– soap bars
– maize meal
– aluminium cups
– canned beef
– spoons
– rice
– toothpaste
– salt
– face cloths
– instant porridge
– roll-on deodorant
– peanut butter
– toilet paper
– sugar.

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