[imagesource:obs.org]
On the same day that Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis opened the new safe space shelter in Durbanville, residents of Observatory’s Rainbow House find themselves living under a bridge after their landlord evicted them this morning following a lengthy legal battle.
Some residents have found alternative accommodation, but several longtime residents have nowhere to go and so with the winter on our doorstep, the railway bridge next to Station Road will have to do.
The CoCT has been doing a lot of work in trying to provide for the 14,000 homeless people who live in the city and plans to spend over R220 million to expand shelters over the next three years – which makes the eviction of folks from Rainbow House seem even more sad, if not downright confusing.
Opened during the lockdown, The Obz Rainbow House has been a place of refuge for street-based members of the Obs community who were looking to take the next step, get off the streets and find work and shelter.
The house does not receive financial support from the government and has been operating with contributions from residents, neighbours and organisations.
It’s run by homeless people for homeless people, and the residents contribute by selling handmade artworks, items of clothing and other goods. One of the house members, Karin Rhoode, said the 26-member house is not only a bed shelter but also offers programmes that enable the homeless to make a living through jewellerymaking, painting, woodwork and other programmes.
This is exactly what the CoCT wants to promote, so the question is why an established ‘safe space shelter’ was not supported more.
After the 2020 Pandemic, IOL reported on Rainbow House’s Backabuddy campaign to help cover the R30,000 the house needed to pay the rent, water bills, rates and taxes, but whether the cost of keeping a roof over your head in Cape Town played the only part in their eviction is uncertain. It just seems the city could, and should have intervened. Perhaps the city did and there is more to this story than we know at the moment.
Cutting the ribbon on a shelter for the homeless on the same day a home for the homeless is shut down just feels hollow. Let’s just hope they don’t turn Rainbow House into another Tiger’s Milk.
[imagesource:here] Earlier this month, Starlink told customers that it would be termina...
[imagesource:drinkprime/facebook] After its influencer-driven launch in 2023, every chi...
[imagesource: Sohu.com] The world has always had people with incredible wealth. From...
[imagesource:rawpixel] 'Ozempic’s weight loss miracle' has been doing the viral round...
[imagesource:missuniversoar] A 60-year-old Argentinian lawyer is turning heads and blow...