Johann Kikillus, Soteria Ministries director, Fish Hoek
This week the news broke that U-Turn Homeless Ministry will be pulling out of FIsh Hoek.
I have the privilege of working alongside Katelyn, Gideon, Natasha and Steven over the past nine months. They did an incredible job considering the many challenges that they faced.
In their final report, it was mentioned that they had assisted 256 different individuals whilst working in Fish Hoek. This number is considerably higher than two years ago when we estimated around 68.
What has happened over the past year is that life on the streets has become more dangerous, especially "up the line".
In order to find safety, many homeless have come to the far south. Sadly the gang element in Fish Hoek continues to make life difficult for this vulnerable group.
Winter is coming. I would like to request a meeting with the provincial Department of Social Development, the City’s homeless unit, sub-council, the health department, religious institutions, interested NGOs and residents on how to find a way forward to assist the growing number of people finding themselves on our streets.
I look forward to hearing from the government what plan they have before the rain comes