Homelessness in Pretoria: Exploring the survival challenges of the homeless and their right to the city

ABSTRACT

This article documents the biographies of 60 homeless people from a range of different backgrounds in South Africa’s capital city of Pretoria. The article focuses on their right to the city and how the lack thereof affects their daily lives. It explores the challenges they face on a daily basis and the different strategies they implement in mitigating these challenges.

KEYWORDS:

• Homelessness
• community
• public spaces
• the right to the city
• challenges
• survival strategies

Acknowledgements

This work forms part of research conducted for the 2015 Tshwane Homeless Summit organised by the City of Tshwane, Tshwane Homelessness Forum, University of Pretoria and University of South Africa in attempt to further understand homelessness and identify pathways out. The authors wish to thank Dr Stephan De Beer and Professor Rehana Vally for their input.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 Akanani is a Tsonga word meaning ‘let us build together’. It was previously known as the Street Ministry and started its work with the adult homeless communities of the inner city in 1997. See http://www.tlf.org.za/akanani/ Accessed 20 October 2015.

2 Night Church is a drop-in centre which aims to create a Christian healing community presence in Arcadia between 18:00 and 22:00 every weekday, offering a shower, locker space, a cup of coffee, a place to pray, a devotion every night at 21:00, free Internet and a mobile clinic every Thursday evening. See http://www.compassioncentre.co.za/night-church.html Accessed 20 October 2015.

3 Koffiehuis is a drop-in centre for the homeless that provides them with a church service and a meal every Friday night.

4 Food being given out by FBOs, NGOs and good samaritans.

5 Tshwane Leadership Foundation is a faith-based organisation that provides services for homeless individuals in the inner city of Pretoria.

6 The city by-laws are made to cater for an ideal situation where there is no homelessness. However the reality is different and these by-laws become counteractive because they work against vulnerable people and turn them into delinquents and petty criminals; therefore the laws reflect the social reality that we are living in.

7 Metro police – a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force.