Give A Hand Up – Not A Hand Out
Rather Help Those Who Help The Homeless
OH Watch believes in giving to those less fortunate than ourselves via responsible means. We want all donations and handouts to end up with those who need it to survive and to support them to get back on their feet. We do not support giving money or any kind of handout, to individuals on the street.
We have a list of trusted organisations that we can wholeheartedly recommend. Our focus is predominantly the support of homeless shelters, but you will find several worthy institutions of various types on our list below. We also participate in programmes that support the work done by the City of Cape Town to find permanent solutions for homeless individuals.
It takes more than money to turn lives around
Your small change can be more effectively used by supporting an NGO that helps the homeless with warm beds, hot meals, family reunifications, obtaining IDs, trauma therapy and other life skills to help them become self-supporting members of society. The organisations listed below have invested in suitable infrastructure and have access to the appropriate networks needed to offer such services.
If your NGO is in the CBD of Cape Town or immediate surrounds and you are not on our list, please contact us on [email protected]
Shelters
Culemborg Safe Spaces
The safe space is a transitional space for up to 230 street people which includes a safe space to sleep: access to ablution facilities; lockers; social and health services; developmental and Expanded Public Works Opportunities, with the aim of transitioning off the street long-term.
The Haven
The Haven Night Shelter has seen many homeless people take refuge from the cold/rainy weather, into our shelters, making the shelters full to capacity. It has therefore become imperative for us to continue adding more bedspaces whereever possible.
The Homestead Yizani Centre
The organisation runs projects for street children in Cape Town South Africa including a children’s Home for 75 boys in Khayelitsha, a Transition centre for youth leaving care, drop-in centres and outreach programmes for street children and early intervention programmes in Valhalla Park, Manenberg, Site C Khayelitsha for children at risk of becoming street children.
Ons Plek Projects
Ons Plek, meaning Our place, is the only residential Child and Youth Care Centre in Cape Town that specialises in developmental and therapeutic intake services for girls who have lived, worked or begged on the streets of Cape Town.
Salesian Institute – Youth Projects
Salesian Institute Youth Projects works in youth education and skills development, changing the lives of vulnerable children and youth-at-risk in and around Cape Town, South Africa. We offer support, life skills, and vocational training.
The Hope Exchange
Hope starts with dignity and The Hope Exchange gives them the ability to be respected for who they are, to be acknowledged and not dismissed. We provide the homeless, our clients, the opportunity to wash, clean their clothes, get a meal, get clinic care and social support.
Percy Bartley House
Percy Bartley House focuses on building capacity and family reintegration in the lives of marginalised and afflicted boys for their positive contribution to families and communities.
Cape Town Multi Service Centre
Cape Town Multi Service Centre make services accessible to vulnerable children and families in order that they may participate in their own development and become self-reliant.
YMCA Cape Town
YMCA Cape Town is a non-profit organization that provides a range of social development programmes for youths.
Beth Uriel
Beth Uriel, “House of Light”, aims to provide young men from impoverished communities the chance to pursue meaningful, independent lives through a supportive living environment, connections to educational opportunities and training in life skills
Salvation Army – Beth Rogelim Hostel
Beth Rogelim in Cape Town provides accommodation for eighty-eight (88) elderly men. The Centre provides assisted living where residents look after themselves but have assistance with meals, cleaning washing and other activities of daily living.
The Pride Shelter
Over its 6-year history, The Pride Shelter has aided and accommodated over 700 LGBTI+ individuals facing a crisis/trauma period in their lives. Rooted in a human-rights-based approach, our grass-roots organisation strives to promote dignity, self-respect and a sense of personal empowerment within all individuals across the LGBTI+ spectrum.
St Anne’s Stroller Moms
Shelter, care, and empowerment for abused, destitute and pregnant mothers and their young children.
Loaves and Fishes
A Christian second-phase shelter and renewal centre in Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa, for destitute men and women between the ages of 25 and 63. Our aim is to be a place of spiritual, psychological and material renewal for destitute men and women from all walks of life.
Youth Solutions Africa
Youth Solutions Africa endeavours to bring sustainable development through skills training, education, temporary shelter and reintegration into mainstream society.
Soup Kitchens
Ladles of Love
To reach further, be more sustainable, and help communities support themselves, they now work to assist a number of non-profit organisations, community projects, and schools across the peninsula. The foundation is about more than providing meals. It’s about dignity, respect, and creating the kind of world we all want to live in.
The Service Dining Rooms
Our mission is to ensure that the most vulnerable people in the community are fed and cared for. Every weekday, we source and prepare nourishing meals, catering for approximately 300 people who come to our door.
Woodstock Brewery Mothersoup
Woodstock Brewery has repurposed its brewing equipment to make nutritious soup for those in need. With our large, efficient and safe brewing pots, we are able to make donations intended to feed those in need go a very, very long way.
Other Organisations
STRAATWERK
STRAATWERK is a registered non-profit organisation with a strong evangelistic focus.
Shine Literacy
Shine Literacy supports South Africa’s children to become skilled and enthusiastic readers in the foundation phase.
Ubuntu Circle of Courage
The Ubuntu Circle of Courage runs positive, alternative programmes for underprivileged communities that prevent at-risk individuals from living on the streets.
