Salvation Army working to help homeless people back on their feet

World Homeless Day, which is celebrated annually on October 10, is an opportunity to remember that homeless people require immediate care and long-term assistance to help them regain shelter in the context of a stable community.

As an organisation active in the care of homeless people, The Salvation Army is aware that causes of homelessness range from complex personal circumstances to factors outside an individual’s control.

Reasons might include a lack of employment due to economic circumstances, a lack of gainful employment or being unemployable. Poor mental health, substance abuse and addictions, domestic violence and the breakdown of family relationships also contribute to people becoming homeless.

In South Africa, we have an

additional factor caused by families in which one or both parents have died as a result of HIV/Aids or a related illness, and children have been left to fend for themselves. Many of them end up on the streets.

Temporary homelessness in-

creases with localised flooding

that occurs at this time of the

year. This is often because poverty forces people to erect homes on floodplains.

The Salvation Army cares for homeless people by providing meals, the free distribution of blankets and clothing, especially in winter, and offering shelter. We also run several homes for the elderly, in many instances preventing them from becoming homeless.

Last year, the East London branch of the Salvation Army ran a “street store” in which homeless people were given the opportunity to choose the donated clothes they wanted rather than accepting randomly selected items.

Some branches run thrift or charity stores in which clothing and other items can be bought at nominal prices.

The Salvation Army served about 50000 meals last year, primarily to indigent people living on the streets. This excludes meals given out in its social institutions, such as children’s homes.

We are aware that many street-

children and adults prefer living on the streets than at home, or in a shelter of some kind or a home for the destitute. Being in a home does mean discipline in some form or another, and some homeless people respond negatively to this.

To fully address the issue of homelessness - and to help create long-term stability - the Salvation Army therefore uses, within the restrictions of a limited budget, a continuum of care that ranges from early intervention, crisis accommodation, medium-term care, and a range of counselling and rehabilitation services. All these services work together to return people to secure, long-term accommodation as part of a community.

Harvey*, who lives on the streets, illustrates this when he says: “I’m a pretty nice guy when I’m not drunk. I’ve been on the streets for the past 25 years and let me say I prefer it that way. It’s hard and dangerous most of the time, but I have freedom. The Salvation Army helps me from time to time with food and the occasional bed for which I’m grateful.”

The roots of The Salvation Army’s care for the homeless go back to 1888 when the fledgling organisation started its first feeding scheme at Limehouse in the East End of London, England.

William Booth, the founder, responded to the suffering of people around him. He believed preaching the Gospel and the practical concern for the physical needs of people must go hand in hand.

If you would like to contribute to our work among homeless people, you can make a donation through our bank account.

Giving help can be as simple and easy as sending an SMS message to our helpline, 42290, with the word “Homeless” in the SMS. The cost of the SMS is only R30, most of which we receive and which goes towards assisting the needy.

Alternatively, members of the public can make direct contributions into the bank account of The Salvation Army. Details are:

Bank: FNB

Branch: Braamfontein

Branch code: 251905

Account name: Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal

Account number: 50540087604

Reference: Please give your name and “Homeless” as a reference.

Companies wishing to contribute in kind are can contact me at 0117186745 or 0829944351.

*Not his real name.

* Holmes is PR secretary at The Salvation Army, Southern Africa region.