Minister Fritz visits Khayelitsha families caring for the disabled

In keeping with the ongoing disabilities outreach campaign, the Western Cape Minister for Social Development, Adv. Albert Fritz, today visited six families that stay with a person living with a disability.

The visits come after community members and activists requested Minister Fritz to personally visit the area. From Kuyasa to Harare, Minister Fritz walked the streets of Khayelitsha interacting with residents who care for relatives living with disabilities.

It is most encouraging to see, first-hand, the crucial role caring and committed parents and family members play in the lives of people living with disabilities.

The Western Cape Department of Social Development (DSD) will spend over R148-million on related programmes in 2016/17. Key to this expenditure will be improving access for people living with disabilities, and to strengthen families. Our services to people with disabilities include:

• Temporary or permanent residential care services (provided by residential facilities managed by NGOs),
• Provision of social work services: counselling services, trauma debriefings,
• Peer support programmes,
• Family/parental support programmes,
• Day care services for economic empowerment and to train Persons with Disabilities to acquire skills.
• Facilitation of open labour market placements.

In his interaction with families, Minister Fritz indicated that there would be immediate follow-up from social workers from the DSD Khayelitsha local office and officials from the disabilities programme.

Members of the public looking for information on services available for people living with disabilities can contact the DSD hotline on 0800 220 250. We can empower people living with disabilities if we continue to work, ‘Better Together’.