The Hollywood Foundation Team in the Western Cape was humbled to lend a helping hand to a non-profit organisation that focusses on equipping the lives of homeless individuals from surrounding communities through a CSI initiative. Welfare continues to be a major focus for the Purple Team, as they pride themselves on making a positive difference to individuals from disadvantaged and vulnerable backgrounds.
U-turn Homeless Ministries was established in 1997. The organisation provides necessities such as food and clothing to the homeless. It also helps them towards drug or alcohol rehab and if necessary, skills development and sheltered employment.
The organisation also provides transitional accommodation along the way and their clients graduate when they have secured a job on the open market and are self-sustainable in bricks and mortar accommodation. Over 80% of their graduates remain sober, housed and employed after completing the programme.
Like any other organisation, they are facing many challenges as they offer a wide variety of support services in various ways. Their main challenge is lack of huge equipment that they could use, from double decker buses to stationery which is why the Purple Team from Woodstock, through a CSI initiative, visited the organisation on 23 March 2023, to hand over the items on their wishlist to help them continue changing lives. U-turn Homeless Ministries is also operating soup kitchens, shops, classrooms, shelters, retail logistics and administrative support among other things. Stephen Underwood, the Fundraising Officer at U-turn Homeless Ministries, said that the equipment supplied by the Hollywood Foundation will enable them to produce high quality meals to more than 300 unique individuals this year. He added,” The kitchen equipment will benefit us through the provision of warm, healthy meals to assist our daily survival and facilitate therapeutic work on our personal development. You cannot teach a hungry person.”
