Premier Sisi Ntombela and MEC for Social Development, Mamiki Qabathe, undertook key interventions during their interactions with two groups of homeless people currently being provided with shelter at the Tierpoort Dam Resort and Kagisanong Hall, respectively.
According to a statement by the spokesperson of the Department of Social Development, both groups are currently also being provided with healthcare, grooming, food and other essentials by the Free State Provincial Government (FSPG).
The homeless people expressed their appreciation of the process currently being undertaken by the FSPG, to reunite them with their families and reintegrate them into their respective communities.
The homeless people will at the end of the lockdown period be afforded assistance to go back to school, through various skills development programme facilitated by government. The homeless people, who presented business ideas to Ntombela and Qabathe, will be assisted to establish small businesses and cooperatives to enable them to help their families.
Amongst the homeless persons was an old man who is nearing his seventies and will be placed in an appropriate Old Age Facility in Bloemfontein once the lockdown has been lifted.
The FSPG will bring on board various institutions and social workers with expertise in drug rehabilitation in preparation for a smooth transition during the integration process of the homeless people into society. The FSPG further calls upon society to work together in assisting the homeless across the province, even beyond the lockdown.
