Week 4: Poverty on Long Street
I live on Long Street, a street known for a combination of great food, fun night clubs, robberies, and a large population of indigent people. I love this street. I am mere minutes from jazz, plays, the food market, the large curio market called Green Market Square, the Commission for Gender Equality office, and my work office. One hotly debated issue in this area, however, is what to do when people ask for money. To put this into context, I am asked for money on average about five to ten times per day. There is less sign-holding than in the states as more people opt to follow you around for a bit until they get some cash or food from you.
On my first day, I was told by my Airbnb host not to give anyone money because, he said, there are enough homeless shelters and food pantries nearby. His explanation was reiterated by some of my co-workers who expressed frustration about people begging. They, as refugees who have difficult lives of their own, do not respect people who do not work and instead beg others for a “handout.” Other locals whom I have befriended have expressed this same rhetoric, but some have explained the inadequacy of the resources available to provide for such large numbers of indigent and housing insecure people.
After conducting some online research, I began to get a better sense of the debate surrounding giving money to indigent people. Some sites suggest only giving people food or to give passes that you can get at a Pick n’ Pay (Cape Town’s Wal-Mart or Target) so they can get food with the passes, but cannot buy alcohol or cigarettes. A news source even called the problem of giving money to indigent people an incentive for “chronic homelessness.” The complaint from the city is that by giving money directly to indigent people, they will not reach out to social services. The other side of the argument is that small acts of kindness in the street do not exactly create the “chronic homelessness” as much as a history of forcing people from their homes, pricing people out of the market, a lack of employment opportunities, and other forms of discrimination do. This side also argues that restricting how people spend the money you give them is patronizing.
Homelessness is relevant to my work here in South Africa because many of our clients do not have housing due to high unemployment rates and the added societal stigmas of homophobia and xenophobia. Instead of listing the facts of housing insecurity in South Africa, I will provide three anecdotes that highlight the ways I have interacted with indigent and housing insecure people while in Cape Town. First, I have noticed that many indigent people hang out on my street near Greenmarket Square. Nearby in Company Gardens (I am sure a very lovely garden in the warmer months, but currently a place I run through with semi-tame squirrels, pigeons, and large rats), there is also a large population of indigent people sleeping on benches or in the grass. Here, like in the United States, drug addiction and alcoholism contribute to the number of housing insecure people in the community. Second, one night as I was walking to a well-known jazz spot called The Crypt, I ran into a man in a blanket who asked my friend and I for eight rand (about sixty-six cents) so he could stay in the shelter at night. My friend, a local who lives in Kalk Bay, explained to me that even though there are free shelters, those shelters are infamous for rape, robbery, and stabbings, so many would prefer to go to the shelters where you have to pay a small fee per night. I do not blame them. Lastly, there is an elderly indigent man who sits at my doorstep at night, enthusiastically says hi to me, and explains each time I see him that he is out here trying to make the community safe. I appreciate his presence and enjoy the consistency he brings to my travel experience.
In sum, I cannot help but be uncomfortable with the idea of ignoring people who are asking me for help, especially when they are carrying children. That being said, my strategy has been to put snacks in the outer pocket of my backpack to give someone if they ask for food.
P.S. It is worth noting here that the “Statement on Visit to the USA, by Professor Philip Alston, United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights” is a great read if you are interested in how indigent people are treated in the United States. Spoiler alert: we do not treat them well.
