Souper Troopers celebrates eight years of empowering and uplifting Cape Town’s homeless, addressing the complex matter with dignity, love and respect.
Cape Town, South Africa (07 June 2022) – The Souper Troopers have been helping Cape Town’s homeless for the last eight years. Today they celebrate the 8th birthday of the organisation.
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.
“Our motto is DIGNITY LOVE RESPECT, all of which are the principles Kerry has instilled in our Souper community from the very beginning.
We have a field worker who engages with homeless people to find out what help they need, and then works with each person according to their needs, including arranging the documentation they need to be considered for social grants or jobs, liaising with shelters on their behalf, helping them with the transition.”
The hope is that the Souper Troopers are provided with a hand up instead of just a handout. They advocate for the city’s marginalised. Those who opt-in for help are called Troopers because they are taking the first steps toward changing their own lives.
Help is offered through the Humanity Hub, which facilitates the coverage of basic needs and then works towards upliftment. The services provided to each person differ depending on what they may need. They help with the following,
- outreach and consulting
- medical, addiction and psychiatric referrals
- identification documents
- grant applications
- referrals within the Souper Troopers network of social service providers
- family mediation and reunification
- job preparation and facilitation
- accommodation placements
- skills training and group work sessions
- transport arrangements
- assistance with legal issues
- ongoing support and mentoring.
“The Humanity Hub is situated on the ground floor of the Community Chest Building at 82 Bree Street and is open to beneficiaries by appointment on Mondays and Thursdays from 8.30 am to 3 pm. This is the address at which we accept donations of clothing, shoes, toiletries, non-perishable food, and any other household items.
We are so grateful to Community Chest for accommodating us in their premises.”
The team celebrated the big birthday today with cake, cupcakes and a good bit of cheer. They invited all the Troopers to join them in the celebrations. Many of the Troopers helped put on a play to provide entertainment, and fun was had by all.
You can find out more about Souper Troopers via the website here.