Linda Morrison of We Are Durban, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), said the co-governance of temporary homeless shelters between NGOs and the city had ensured the recovery of at least 660 homeless people with a drug dependency.
Homeless men housed at a temporary shelter in eThekwini during COVID-19 have established an agricultural project in the inner-city. With assistance from the municipality and NGOs, they are now selling organic vegetables to locals. Picture: Nkosikhona Duma/EWN
DURBAN – Activists against the discrimination of persons with a drug dependency in eThekwini on Wednesday appealed to city officials to maintain partnerships with civil society post the lockdown.
Linda Morrison of We Are Durban, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), said the co-governance of temporary homeless shelters between NGOs and the city had ensured the recovery of at least 660 homeless people with a drug dependency.
[PICTURES] Homeless men housed at a temporary shelter in EThekwini during Covid-19 have established an agricultural project in the inner-city. With assistance from the municipality and NGOs, they are now selling organic vegetables to locals. @NkoRaphael pic.twitter.com/f1W44ELiJF
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) October 14, 2020
[WATCH] Nomusa Shembe from the eThekwini municipality’s Safer Cities unit explains that homeless people have also established other projects. @NkoRaphael pic.twitter.com/I7eqh4JW6g
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) October 14, 2020
Drug use expert, Professor Monique Marks, said they also managed to attend to other health issues faced by the homeless.
“We also were able to link the homeless population – and I’m not just talking about people with drug use disorders, I’m talking about in general those who were in the facility – with health care services,” Marks said.
Meanwhile, the eThekwini Municipality said it was in the process of establishing a post-lockdown plan for the homeless.
