Community steps up

Homelessness has become one of Cape Town's most visible and most complex social challenges. From the city's busy intersections to quiet suburban corners, the sight of people living on the streets has become a daily reminder of inequality and exclusion.

- NAMHLA MONAKALI

U-Turn Homeless Service Centre officially opens its doors at the Wynberg Methodist Church on Saturday 11 October in the picture Revd. Obusitswe Tiroyabone (Methodist Church, Wynberg), Basil Carelse (Operations Manager - Uturn), Minister Jaco Londt (Western Cape Minister of Social Development), Cllr Carmen Siebritz (Ward 63), Cllr Emile Langenhoven (Ward 62), Cllr Francine Higham (Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, City of Cape Town), Lise van den Dool (Chief Programs Officer - Uturn), Tarryn Manzoni (Wynberg Service Centre Recovery Coach)

But in Wynberg, a group of residents, faith leaders, and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) are trying something new, a community-led model of hope that may offer a glimpse of a different path forward.

After two years of planning and collaboration, the long-anticipated U-Turn Homeless Service Centre officially opened its doors at the Wynberg Methodist Church on Saturday, 11 October. Unlike most similar facilities, this one wasn’t established by the City of Cape Town or a large nonprofit organisation. It was initiated by ordinary citizens determined to do something about homelessness in their neighbourhood.