HAVEN OLD HOME BLANKETS

The Haven Night Shelter was established in 1972 when members of the Green Point community decided to address the problem of elderly homeless people in Cape Town. In 1978, the first Haven Night Shelter was officially opened in Somerset Road, Green Point. The Haven Night Shelter provided cheap overnight accommodation to homeless people to protect them against adverse weather conditions and crime. In 1985, cottages were purchased in Aberdeen Street, Woodstock. This gave birth to The Haven Old Age Home. This was the second phase of the Haven Night Shelter Organisation and The Haven Old Age Home became permanent accommodation for elderly homeless people.

Initially, the home accommodated 29 homeless people. By means of public donations, additional buildings in Essex Street, Woodstock, were purchased and converted into an old age home with a frail care centre. Haven Homes was officially registered as an Old Age Home in 1996 and is now home to 129 elderly people.

Goals and Objectives of Haven Home:

• To provide health care services to the frail, in an effort to improve physical and mental health.
• To render professional lay counselling services to uplift and empower clients to self-actualisation and self-sufficiency.
• To establish participative practices in rehabilitation in conjunction with clients, their families, and the community.
• To highlight and advocate for the plight of the destitute in general, to maintain effective and efficient management practices in the financial and human resources section of the organisation.
• To render preventative services to the older destitute person.
• To reunite and link clients with their family of origin or look at alternative permanent accommodation which would enhance their functioning.
• To encourage participative practices with the community to enhance the social functioning of clients.
• To encourage the integration of clients into the community.