Keep people off the street
2005-11-10
PEOPLE are friendly and empathetic to people on the street, often giving them money and food.
Hassan Khan, CEO of the Haven Night Shelter Organisation, warned people that this attitude only serves to maintain homeless people on street.
“We often help them out of the gutter, just to leave them on the pavement,” he said at a recent open day at the Haven in Paarl.
He said homeless people must, wherever possible, be assisted to return to their families.
“We need to turn off the dripping tap,” he said of the ever-increasing number of people that need shelter and food.
Khan explained the new concept of the Haven Night Shelter, where they have only a very limited number of rooms available, but rather concentrate on providing food to the poor.
“We are not cheap hotels. Homeless people should use our facilities as a temporary solution. They must be committed to going back home,” he said about their ‘tough love’ approach.
Khan said he sees the Haven as poverty alleviation centres, where they support poor households in an effort to keep people in their homes.
They also give attention to streetchildren and urge people not to encourage these children’s begging habits.
“To give R2 to a streetchild is as good as giving him or her a 2 ton brick - we are holding them down.
“Donate generously, but compassionately,” he told the audience, “to the organisations, like the Haven, that can really make a difference to the children”.
He concluded by talking about community participation: “Become a volunteer. Remember a smile may be more of a charity than R1.”
For more information on the Haven, phone Nick or Bessie le Roux at 862-1812.
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