DSD Grassy Park Local Office launched by Minister Fritz

Today, the Western Cape Department of Social Development (DSD) launched its local offices in Grassy Park. Minister Albert Fritz launched the new facility in the presence of our NGO partners, including CAFDA, Cape Town Child Welfare, and the South African Police Services.

The Grassy Park local office falls under the Metro South Regional Office, and brings the total number of local offices in the province to 39. In the wake of World Humanitarian Day this week, the department continues to expand its provincial footprint, and local offices like Grassy Park bring our services closer to communities.

The Grassy Park Local Office has a full staff compliment of 5 social workers, 3 social auxiliary workers, and 1 assistant Community Development Worker. These professionals are responsible for providing important services closer to the community, including;

• Early Childhood Development (registration and monitoring of ECD centres)
• Child protection (including foster care services),
• Substance abuse (screening and referral for treatment),
• Victim empowerment,
• Disability programme,
• Older persons (registration and monitoring of Old Age Homes).

The community of Grassy Park suffers from high levels of substance abuse, prominent of which are tik, heroine, and alcohol. This has had a profoundly negative effect on families and children in particular. In response to these challenges, the Grassy Park DSD has hit the ground running, and have already started a Family Preservation Programme. Running over 8 weeks, the programme provides counselling, support and services to families and children at risk.

The department remains committed to bringing our services closer to communities, and continuously improving the quality of services for residents in the province. The Grassy Park local office will only be successful if the community works with us and our funded NGO partners. We can tackle Grassy Parks social challenges if we work ‘Better Together’.