By Staff Reporter
08/10/2015
The World Homelessness Day will be celebrated on 10 October 2015 from 8:30 in Tshwane to generate awareness with regard to the realities of homelessness in the City of Tshwane.
The celebration to be held at UNISA Muckleneuk Campus, Preller Street, Muckleneuk, will also register some of the milestones achieved since the Homeless Summit 2015 and present an appraised policy on homelessness in the City of Tshwane. The City of Tshwane will also present a costed strategy on how best to eradicate homelessness in the City. Partners will be allowed space and opportunities to give their word and commitment towards the implementation of the strategy by signing a social contract.
The process leading to this celebration of the World Homeless Day 2015 included among others efforts by the partners to change the City of Tshwane into becoming a home for all who live in it; a directive from the Mayor of the City of Tshwane to critique and appraise the current policy on homelessness. This culminated in the Homeless Summit that was held on 25 and 26 May 2015.
The observance of this day is meant to create awareness on the reality of homelessness and to enter into a social contract in which different stakeholders accept responsibility for implementing the revised policy as well as strategies that address destitution in the City. The research team from UNISA and interested partners will conduct a thorough study in terms of providing a theoretical framework and an appropriate wording for such a social contract. This process will culminate in a launch of this research work, either in the form of a book or articles in accredited journals.
The day’s activities will conclude with a march to demonstrate the commitment to eradicate homelessness in the City. The march will start at the corner of Francis Baard and Sisulu Streets at 13h00 and end at Burgers Park, where a memorandum signed by all stakeholders will be handed over to the Gauteng Department of Social Development.
