Empowering the homeless to make a U-Turn from a life on the streets
Good Morning Angels assisted Valarie Govender and the U-turn team, to change lives for good, with a donation of R50,000 towards their efforts in the Western Cape and Johannesburg.
Homelessness is a very real and growing reality in South Africa. It is virtually impossible to go anywhere without encountering a beggar at a traffic light, parking area or shop entrance.
It is an uncomfortable reality that most try to ignore.
For the past 25 years, an organisation called U-Turn has been doing the opposite.
Instead of ignoring what is in plain sight, they work to empower homeless people to do just that: make a U-turn from a life of poverty on the streets, to self sustainability and fulfilment.
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The organisation is based in the Western Cape, but also has recently opened a service centre and shop in Melville in Johannesburg and a shop in Cresta.
"It costs more to maintain a person on the street than it does to provide rehabilitation and support so that they can live an independent, whole life," a recent study into homelessness in Cape Town found.
It also found that a cash handout in response to street solicitation is probably one of the main contributing factors to begging and homelessness, as the money mainly feeds addiction.
U-Turn has created a tool for responsible giving called, Mi-Change vouchers. People can earn these vouchers for meals, clothes, a shower, and a bed by doing community service and completing tasks at service centres.
They can keep coming back - as long as they have vouchers. When they are ready, they receive six months free rehabilitation, then follows skills training, job placement, and housing: a complete U-turn.
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Most of the people who go through this process remain addiction-free, employed, housed, and re-united with their families.
People can support the program by donating old clothes and items to the U-Turn shops and by buying Mi-Change vouchers.
For more information visit: Homeless.org.za
REQUEST FOR: U-Turn, represented by Chief Communications Officer Valerie Govender and U-Turn Champion Brandon Manzoni
ANGEL: The Good Morning Angels Fund NPC
SPONSORING: The Good Morning Angels Fund will assist Valarie and the U-turn team, to change lives for good, with a donation of R50,000 towards their efforts in the Western Cape and Johannesburg.
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