Words: Clare Bradbury

On 15 February 2010, Dawn Brochenin opened the doors of the Ikhaya Labantwana Montessori Early Learning Centre, in Coffee Bay.Photo: Flavio Alagia

Have you ever walked along the streets of Cape Town, particularly at night, and witnessed first-hand the numerous homeless people begging, sleeping rough, with no money and minimal possessions to their name and wondered how they ended up there?

There are an estimated 5,000 people on the streets in Cape Town, so how are they meant to get back home? That is where the Haven Night Shelter steps in. The Haven Night Shelter is available for both men and women, from Cape Town and abroad, who due to a number of circumstances have found themselves alone and on the streets. The Haven Night Shelter was set up in 1978 and was introduced to support those on the street and their main mission is to get the homeless people back home. Today, 33 years on, there are 14 shelters available, with nine in the city of Cape Town.

Every person has a story

Hassan Khan, the CEO for the Haven Night Shelter, identifies that there are numerous reasons why people end up on the streets and that every story is different and personal to each person. Hassan explained the many different reasons that so many people end up in this difficult situation. ‘There are numerous reasons that people end up on the street such as alcoholism, untreated mental illness and drug abuse,’ explained Hassan.

‘Typically we find trauma is the initial push factor that propels people down this downward path. It could be the death of a loved one, which makes them so grief stricken that they can’t overcome that grief and then this has an impact on their performance at work and leads them to lose their job and then they lose their car, because they can’t afford them anymore. As a result of this they will just want to hide out on the streets and go to places where people won’t recognise them, so they lose their friends and family as well. They get used to hiding out on the street and they end up far away from society in general.’

Therefore because they have become so separated from their families and society, it is harder for them to go home so they just remain on the streets. Hassan explained that there is a difference between someone that is homeless and someone that has lost their home, ‘We don’t

Despite efforts aimed at reducing homelessness, an estimated 5,000 people call the streets of Cape Town home.

categorise people who have physically lost their homes and possessions through natural disasters as homeless, they are houseless. For us homelessness means you don’t have your family connections that sustain us through times of difficulty.’ The Haven Night Shelter sets out to help the former, those people who due to some kind of trauma, have lost their home, as well as those closest to them and as a result of this their only option is to live on the streets.

How the shelter helps

On 15 February 2010, Dawn Brochenin opened the doors of the Ikhaya Labantwana Montessori Early Learning Centre, in Coffee Bay.Photo: Flavio Alagia

Initially the shelters were designed to be a safe overnight space for those living on the streets. However, this vision has changed and developed the shelter and its mission over the past 33 years. ‘The aim of the shelters now is to look more at the assistance required to get the homeless person thinking about a new way of life and what assistance is necessary for him to overcome his current impediments, such as trauma,’ identified Hassan. One of the key parts of the Haven Night Shelter is the untreated mental illness and drug abuse,’ explained Hassan.

‘Typically we find trauma is the initial push factor that propels people down this downward path. It could be the death of a loved one, which makes them so grief stricken that they can’t overcome that grief and then this has an impact on their performance at work and leads them to lose their job and then they lose their car, because they can’t afford them anymore. As a result of this they will just want to hide out on the streets and go to places where people won’t recognise them, so they lose their friends and family as well. They get used to hiding out on the street and they end up far away from society in general.’

Therefore because they have become so separated from their families and society, it is harder for them to go home so they just remain on the streets. Hassan explained that there is a difference between someone that is homeless and someone that has lost their home, ‘We don’t

Despite efforts aimed at reducing homelessness, an estimated 5,000 people call the streets of Cape Town home.

categorise people who have physically lost their homes and possessions through natural disasters as homeless, they are houseless. For us homelessness means you don’t have your family connections that sustain us through times of difficulty.’ The Haven Night Shelter sets out to help the former, those people who due to some kind of trauma, have lost their home, as well as those closest to them and as a result of this their only option is to live on the streets.

How the shelter helps

Initially the shelters were designed to be a safe overnight space for those living on the streets. However, this vision has changed and developed the shelter and its mission over the past 33 years. ‘The aim of the shelters now is to look more at the assistance required to get the homeless person thinking about a new way of life and what assistance is necessary for him to overcome his current impediments, such as trauma,’ identified Hassan. One of the key parts of the Haven Night Shelter is the