11/06/2025
THE HOMELESS RECEIVE WARM SHOWERS AHEAD OF COLD, RAINY WEATHER
On Monday, at least fifteen (15) homeless people in Kempton Park, Eastern Corridor, received warm showers and clothing as part of the Gauteng Department of Social Development Homeless Reality Tour.
The Department, in collaboration with its funded non-profit organisations (NPOs) – MES Homeless Shelter and Manger Care Centre, brought two mobile wash buses to the corner of Swart and Thistle Road in Kempton Park, allowing the homeless to have a warm shower ahead of the cold and rainy season.
Speaking during the reality tour, Gauteng Department of Social Development Director for Families, Homelessness, Older Persons, and Persons with Disabilities, Khanyisile Mathebula, reiterated that the Department is responding to a call by the Premier to expand services for the homeless by introducing a mobile drop-in service to help restore their dignity.
“This aims to prevent and eliminate homelessness through the provision of integrated care, support, and protection services to people living on the streets,” she said.
“Working in collaboration with our stakeholders, we are able to provide counselling, engage with them to understand how best we can help, and also offer shelters. We support the homeless through education, skills development, job placements, and capacity building,” Mathebula added.
She further explained that the wash buses, which provide access to bathrooms, ablution facilities, and laundry services, will visit other homeless hotspots across the province as part of a strategy to help people off the streets.
Adele de Bruin, Acting Eastern Corridor Director for the Gauteng Department of Social Development, added, “We are here in Kempton Park with our mobile wash buses to address the needs of homeless people in the area.”
“We gave the homeless an opportunity to bathe, receive clean clothing, and access other services in partnership with stakeholders such as the City of Ekurhuleni Municipality and the Department of Health,” said De Bruin.
Andrew Wessels, Secretary of Manger Care Centre, stated that the organisation provides holistic care and support to homeless beneficiaries, including social work services, psychosocial support, and health services.
“Once they are assessed, we can structure individual development plans linked to an exit strategy. Our beneficiaries go through SETA-accredited training programmes,” he said.
Wessels also shared that he spoke to several homeless individuals during the tour, many of whom said they ended up on the streets after being abandoned by their families.
“We are also encouraged that two of these beneficiaries have taken the bold step of going to rehab. While we understand that not everyone is ready to go to a shelter for various reasons, we are grateful they appreciated the services they received today,” Wessels concluded.
