The Cape Town homeless community who have developed mental challenges while on the street say they feel neglected by the authorities regardless of their cry for help.
Heidi Marlene Amelia, who has been living on the streets since her husband was murdered, said she has been on the run from her husband’s murderers and resorted to living on the streets.
Amelia has been on the streets for 10 years and since then has been diagnosed with depression. She said the Western Cape Department of Social Development (DSD) has continually turned her away.
“Each time I go there, they say I should go to the clinic and take my medication. I take medication for depression.
“When I ask them to help me with food and assistance they tell me to go to a soup kitchen. These soup kitchens require us to pay R2 to access soup. When I tell them this they say they also don’t have R2,” she said.
The City of Cape Town said the Department of Social Development oversees mental health facilities and services in the province.
The City said it has a street task team and safe spaces, and refer persons for mental health services to provincial government social workers and NGOs.
Amelia denied seeing a member of the City’s street task team.
Berton Beukes and Patricia Geyser met on the street and found love. Beukes described Geyser as broken, wounded and betrayed when he first met her.
Geyser said she had a house and was living with her infant child and a newborn. Her sister asked to come stay with her while she got her life in order. She said that her sister sold her house without her knowledge, and she landed up on the street with her children.
“I was raped while living on the streets and my children were taken away from me/ This resulted in me having heavy depression.
“I frequent Social Development, and the social workers do not want to speak to me. They are rude. When I phone them they don’t pick up. They often threaten me and say I will never see my children,” she said.
Beukes said they have approached CCID on numerous occasions for assistance and they are always told to return next week.
Tarra Gerardy, CCID Social Development manager, said that the CCID’s social development department often assists people on the street who have mental health challenges by seeking treatment for them and referring them to medical facilities.
“With respect to a complaint that homeless clients were not given immediate assistance recently, this is due to the fact that the department had temporary reduced capacity as key members were on leave,” she said.
The DSD said it would not comment on allegations without knowing the specifics of the incident.
“It must also be noted that DSD social workers do not work with homeless adults living on the streets, only children. Generally it is social workers from the City of Cape Town’s Social Development Unit who work with homeless adults, and social workers working in shelters,” the department said.
Clinical psychologist, Khosi Jiyane, said in both cases, the need was for a safe sanctuary which is often represented by home.
“In both stories, the homeless persons sought sanctuary on the streets by either running away from killers or having being painfully evicted from their homes.
“It must be noted that because they were diagnosed with depression on the street, it does not mean there were no build ups, the living conditions on the street merely heightened them,“ she said.