DPVO Newsletter – 2 December 2022
Cleaning team update
After a short break in funding, the Cleaning Team is back working on our streets and in our parks again. Recently Hilma Amutenya was appointed to supervise the team’s activities. Hilma started working at Streetscapes in April this year, and after only eight months, she has been promoted to assist Chantel with the cleaning team in our area. She describes herself as self-motivated, energetic and a good communicator – and that is already evident from her posts on our WhatsApp group. Hilma will be attending our AGM – do come and meet her.
Survey of people living rough in the area
It took some time to get the survey off the ground, but after several brainstorming sessions to clarify the questions, and comprehensive training of the Streetscapes team, the interviews started in Stroompie. The first round of interviews covering Devil’s Peak and Vredehoek, the perimeters of our suburbs as well as the Mill Street Bridge and lower De Waal Park have been completed. Gianna and Matthew, who are part of the DPVO team, have been busy analysing the data, and we will be sharing the first set of facts and figures at our AGM. Streetscapes is planning to expand the area covered by the survey and to repeat it annually so that we can build up a database of actual information about homelessness in the City Bowl, and in our area specifically. We hope that this will highlight issues where DPVO can become involved and find solutions.
Chantel’s news
Supporters of the Outreach initiative donated generously towards the cost of an Auxiliary Social Worker course for Chantel, our field worker and peer counsellor. She has just received confirmation that her application was successful.
The course starts in January and we are all looking forward to this new stage in her career.
fieldworker Chantel Sampson