Team Supporting Rehabilitated Homeless, Starts Fund to Bridge Gap

Gap Community Call-to-Action: Help keep South Africa warm and fed this winter. Souper Trooper

Photo Credit: Souper Troopers

The Souper Troopers have a 4-month waiting period between funding contracts with the City of Cape Town; they hope to fund the gap so their 25 rehabilitated homeless continue to thrive and grow.

Cape Town, South Africa (24 August 2022) – Kerry Hoffman started Souper Troopers after she spent a day sharing soup and sandwiches with people living on the street. She realised that many of the people living on the streets were barely treated like humans and offered no dignity or love. She started the organisation to restore dignity to the men and women living on the streets of Cape Town – that was eight years ago!

For the past eight months, 25 homeless people – known as the ‘Souper Squad’ – have been kept employed – and largely off the street and the abusive substances they were addicted to – due to a highly successful holistic programme run by Souper Troopers, the Cape Town-based homeless advocacy and support organisation.

However, with anticipated renewal funding from the City for this project unexpectedly cancelled and new funding from the City looking set to start only later this year, the organisation is in dire need of bridging funds to continue its support of the Squad beyond 31 August. Keeping these Troopers off the streets and in the programme, particularly as temperatures plunge and rain batters Cape Town streets is an urgent priority for which Souper Troopers is calling for donations.

“Imagine you are just getting your life together after years on the streets, and then suddenly the plug is pulled,” said Kerry Hoffman, Souper Troopers founder. “The aftermath could quickly shatter the dignity, trust and stability our beneficiaries have all developed over the past few months, and even cause irreparable damage.”

“Our 25 beneficiaries cannot afford a break in their earnings,” continues Hoffman. “Many of them have taken on rental commitments thanks to this program and will be back on the streets soon if we don’t find the funding to employ them in the gap period. This will undo all of their progress and almost certainly derail their steps to find accommodation, get off substances they were dependent upon, and reconcile with family.”

In order to maintain consistent support of its Souper Squad, a Backabuddy fund has been established, with the goal of raising the necessary R100,000 per month for four months to continue to employ these 25 Troopers. This breaks down to an average of R4000 per person per month, which includes psychosocial development support.

Souper Squad: Souper Success Stories

In January 2022, thanks to Public Employment Programme (PEP) funding from the City of Cape Town through Khulisa Social Services, Souper Troopers was able to employ 25 Troopers (20 workers and five supervisors) in a job creation and psychosocial development program.

This Souper Squad has spent the last eight months beautifying public spaces in under-resourced communities (planting, painting, growing, clearing, decorating) while working individually and as a group with a fieldwork team on personal development, recovery from addiction, life skills and creative pursuits. The program has been a huge success, as evidenced by the following figures:

Souper Squad statistics – 25 Troopers

22 are now clean and no longer using the substances they were addicted to
20 no longer live on the streets
25 have bank accounts and ID documents
8 have managed to save for their future
25 send money home to their families every month
25 have achieved the goals they set for themself

“These are real humans we are talking about,” Hoffman says. “It’s easy to view the homeless as a faceless group, but each of these individuals has a story and a unique set of adversities. It is unthinkable for us to pull this lifeline from our Souper Squad. We know our program works; we just need the funds to keep it going, and hopefully expand our reach in the future.”

Donations of all amounts are welcome: https://www.backabuddy.co.za/champion/project/help-our-souper-squad-thrive.

Souper Troopers is also happy to work with private and corporate partners who align themselves with the organisation’s vision.

Established in 2014, Souper Troopers works with and advocates for the city’s most marginalised residents – those living on the streets. It operates The Humanity Hub, at which a comprehensive range of services are offered to help homeless people transform their lives. Homeless people who come to the organisation wanting to change are called Troopers. Souper Troopers’ psycho-social development model (CAST model) addresses the holistic needs of each individual within the ethos of DIGNITY, LOVE & RESPECT. You can find out more about Souper Troopers via the website here.