When crises such as the following arise, urgent intervention or advice of a professional nature is often required:
- Marital problems
- Domestic violence
- Child abuse
- Homelessness
- Suicide attempts or threats
- Alcohol or drug addiction
- Food shortage
- Depression
- Unemployment
- Uncontrollable children
Various individuals and organisations can be approached for assistance in times of need.
First line of assistance
Your minister should be the first person to contact in times of distress. When help is needed urgently, the church can provide assistance and refer you to a suitable professional service. If you are not a churchgoer, you should consider joining a congregation that can serve as your spiritual home. Many social problems are the result of a lapse from faith and people are simply not spiritually able to deal with problems themselves.
Advice and assistance are also obtainable from local welfare offices (see the list of contact details below). Social workers do not want to take people’s children away from them. Social workers act in the best interest of children and the temporary removal of children is done as a last resort only. Social workers deal with a variety of social problems, including addiction, marital problems and domestic violence; they should be seen as friends of the community. Heavy case loads and staff shortages may delay social workers’ response to cases, but their willingness to help should not be underestimated.
Substance abuse
Substance abuse ranges from alcohol abuse, to the abuse of tablets (including over-the-counter tablets and cough syrup), drugs and hard drugs. Several organisations offer rehabilitation for people who are addicted to alcohol or drugs. SANCA can be contacted on 012 542 1121 for information on the nearest rehabilitation centre in your area.
In cases of severe drug addiction, Dr Ado Krige of COMBAT DRUGS can be contacted on 0867 1777 01. COMBAT DRUGS is a Christian-oriented organisation and runs a number of centres called Regeneration Centres. Treatment at one of these centres lasts a minimum of eight months.
Make the right decision and seek professional help for you or your family.
Pastoral councelling
Sometimes you need a sounding board to discuss personal or family-related problems. At such times, your local minister is the first person you can contact. Social workers are also trained to offer counselling. The following is a list of people who can be contacted for information on the nearest social worker in your area:
- Western Cape: Ms Ronel van Zyl – 021 957 7130
- Northern Cape: Ms Lina Blomerus – 053 832 8212
- Eastern Cape: Ms Corne Erasmus – 041 484 2848
- KwaZulu-Natal: Dr Botha van Aarde – 033 342 7900
- Free State: Ms Susan Louw – 051 407 7222
- North West: Ms Shirley Theron – 011 764 4031
- Gauteng/part of Mpumalanga: Ms Nicolette Myburgh – 011 403 5190
- Mpumalanga: Ms Cecille Petzer – 017 735 4635
- Pretoria and Limpopo: Ms Elelweiss Schieke – 012 460 9272
- The Dutch Reformed Church Provident Council: Ms Mariaan Steenkamp – 012 322 8555
- SAVF (the whole former Transvaal and KwaZulu-Natal): Ms Marita Kemp – 012 325 3920
- OVV (Free State): Ms Santa Oosthuizen – 051 444 6143
- ACVV (South-western Cape and Northern Cape): Ms Shanie Boshoff – 021 461 1109/7431
- The Catholic Women’s League: Ms Ronel Therblanche – 012 343 0112
A clinical psychologist or a pastoral counsellor can also be of help. Your minister will be able to refer you to one.
Housing for the elderly
Senior citizens find it increasingly difficult to live alone in their homes. General frailty, rising living expenses and vulnerability against crime are some of the reasons why they seek alternative accommodation. Old-age homes are only an option for those who receive a state pension, are frail and do not own property or have alternative sources of income. Senior citizens who receive a private pension are not subsidised by the state and must pay the full unit cost in an old-age home, unless they are frail. The monthly unit cost could amount to R4 000,00 to R5 000,00 per person. In some cases, senior citizens’ children or other family members are able to make a contribution to cover the whole unit cost. When family members are unable to contribute financially, a smaller residence or a granny flat can be considered, except in the case of frail or permanently bedridden people. The Council for the Aged has branches in most large towns and cities all over the country and offer assistance to senior citizens in respect of accommodation. The various branches’ telephone numbers are listed in local telephone directories. In the case of senior citizens who are terminally ill, hospices can be approached for care and support. Some institutions offer care to the aged in homes at reasonable rates. A nursing home’s status, management and standard of care should be investigated beforehand, as certain nursing homes offer substandard care. Retirement resorts are the most expensive option. Before booking a place in a retirement resort, ensure that it has a nursing unit and what the monthly charge will be.
The welfare offices listed above can be contacted for advice and information on accommodation options for the elderly.
Emergency numbers
Ambulance: 10177
SAPS: 10111
Child Line: 0800 055 555
Life Line Crisis Centre: 012 342 2222
RadioPulpit: 012 334 1320
Career guidence for children
Schools no longer offer career guidance to children and consequently many youths make the wrong career choice when deciding what to study after school. Two expert psychologists have made a deal with Solidarity Helping Hand to provide career guidance to schoolchildren and students at a special rate. Students who want to make career changes or do career planning can also approach them for advice. The contact details of the psychologists concerned are as follows:
- Dr Ben van Heerden (educational psychologist) – for Gauteng and surrounds: 083 453 5130
- Ms Elzeth Neethling (industrial psychologist) – for Durban area and the rest of KwaZulu-Natal: 084 555 1344
Bursaries
Solidarity Helping Hand has, apart from its own bursary fund, a variety of bursary options for disadvantaged students. Ms Dina Jacobs, Bursary Officer of Helping Hand, can be contacted on 012 644 4382 for information on bursaries.
Helping Hand’s Cape office
Solidarity Helping Hand has a Cape office where Ms Erika Rossouw and Ms Karin Otto deal with enquiries on social issues. They can be contacted on 021 553 1060 or 072 195 6581.
Helping Hand service points and branches
Several service points and branches have been set up nationwide in order to bring Helping Hand’s services closer to people at grass-roots level. You may therefore take your donations to your nearest service point or branch, instead of sending them to Pretoria. Click here to download a list of service points and branches.
You can lend a helping hand
The service points and branches of Solidarity Helping Hand were established following a call from a member of the community who wanted to do more than donate clothes and food. If you are interested in setting up a service point or branch, please contact Faith Durie on 012 644 4390. She will take your personal details and send you the necessary information. Ms Vena Strauss oversees the service points and contacts them directly to give the necessary guidance. Watch this webpage – as new social support services are established, they will be announced here. To have social support services announced on this page, contact Dawie Theron on 083 276 2820 or e-mail him on dawiet@solidariteit.co.za.
