Cathy Achilles
Cape Town - In my capacity as a national president of an NGO, I attended a world convention in Helsinki, Finland, at which Helsinki’s deputy mayor for social services and health care, spoke about their actions in addressing the problem of homelessness.
Listening to the presentation, I could never have imagined that a year later I would be destitute.
I became homeless on the eve of the Covid-19 pandemic because I lent a huge sum of money to a friend who did not pay it back and my business wasn’t doing well.
Back in South Africa after my return from Helsinki, in confronting my own homelessness, I launched a concerted effort to address the issue of homelessness with multiple emails to President Cyril Ramaphosa, outlining a detailed business plan and reminding him that he had promised to support business incentives by women.
After he launched his Presidential Employment Stimulus, I wrote my third email to him, while staying in a night shelter.
While in the shelter I faced daily, the uncertainty that I could end up in the streets and on multiple occasions be raped.
It is not a case of “it might happen to me” it is an “it will happen to me”.
I have heard from multiple women in the shelters about their experiences of sleeping rough on the streets and being assaulted and raped.
Even women who live in a brick and-mortar houses are afraid to walk alone at night in South Africa and women sleeping rough on the streets are even more like to be sexually assaulted.
It felt like the big dangerous spider of the streets was fast approaching me and the more I fought it, the more likely it was going to come out of the web of homelessness.
I worked hard to come out of the shelter system. I sent business proposals to corporates and the government.
I went through all the management structures of the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, and when Minister Nkosinathi Mthethwa did not respond I escalated it to the president.
I knew the president’s administrative staff would not forward my emails to him and I decided to write four more emails to remind him why my proposal would assist with poverty alleviation.
I even created an online magazine with my seventh email.
The magazine had multiple purposes. It was a prototype, and contained all my communications with the government.
I paid homage to those in the media industry who lost their jobs due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Most of all it showed that the homeless are not lazy if given a chance.
In South Africa, when the government does not listen to the communities’ grievances they would resort to burning clinics, libraries, schools and even fire stations.
I did not torch buildings or place razor wire in the road and burn tyres.
I used my phone and my writing skills as my mode of non-violent protest.
In the midst of everything my journey of applying for work did not stop.
I was at the end of my tether after applying for almost 50 vacancies and sending multiple business proposals, the social worker at the night shelter suggested I apply to join the U-turn programme.
U-turn is an NGO that equips people with the skills to overcome homelessness. They are based in Cape Town and are expanding to Joburg. I went through their phase 3 work-readiness programme.
This year I was employed as a receptionist and social media co-ordinator, moved into my own flat, and later graduated from the programme.
I am now employed as an online media co-ordinator and spokesperson of U-turn.
With the assistance of U-turn I was able to break free from the web of homelessness.
There is always the suggestion that people are homeless because they are lazy. The narrative is “get a job”.
But it isn’t that easy. When I was applying for work while staying at the night shelter, I could not apply for retail or take away outlet vacancies as the shelter closes at 6 in the evening.
This meant I could only apply for day-time administrative work. Suitable accommodation for those facing homelessness is a massive challenge.
While the Helsinki government was able to implement the housing first approach, this is very difficult in a South African context.
The problem is that there are people who have been on the waiting list for housing for 30 to 40 years who would be aggrieved if the homeless are given houses.
In South Africa, the web of homelessness is more deeply felt by those living on the street.
There are no easy answers but it is possible, with the right support to get free. The assistance of government, corporates, NGO’s and the broader community is needed to break the web of homelessness.
Achilles is an online media co-ordinator and spokesperson at U-turn.