CCID Social Development

A successful donation drive by Southern Sun in April resulted in an enormously generous donation of clothing and bedding to the CCID’s Social Development department.

The donation drive took place at five hotels, namely Southern Sun Cape Sun, Southern Sun The Cullinan, Southern Sun Waterfront Cape Town, Southern Sun SunSquare and Southern Sun Victoria Junction.

A total of 81 bags were collected via seven donation bins from CCID Social Development: Cape Sun led the way, filling three bins, Waterfront filled two bins while Victoria Junction and The Cullinan filled one bin each. Huge thanks to SunSquare for donating 66 duvet sets.

The duvets will be used at the CCID’s new Safe Sleeping Zone, which is being launched on 2 June in collaboration with The Haven Night Shelter District Six to provide temporary overnight accommodation for the homeless.

Fifteen bags of clothing have also been donated to The Haven.

Says Tara Gerardy-Bissolati: “We are extremely grateful for this very sizeable donation, and grateful to put the duvets to good use at our temporary shelter to provide safe sleeping space for the homeless during the cold winter months.”
Thank you, Southern Sun, we truly appreciate your support.

🏨 For more information on these stellar hotels and what they have to offer from excellent accomodation to great restaurants go to https://www.southernsun.com/

We are excited to announce that the CCID, in partnership with The Haven Night Shelter WO Cape Town, will open an overnight shelter on 2 June 2026 to provide temporary sleeping space per night for at least 80 homeless clients.

A four-month pilot, the Safe Sleeping Zone will provide structured, secure overnight shelter in District Six next to The Haven District Six for up to 80 people per night as part of CCID Social Development’s Winter Readiness Programme.
The pilot –a first-of-its-kind in South Africa – aims to provide safe, dignified temporary overnight accommodation during the harsh winter months.

“For many, winter is only a season, but for people experiencing homelessness it means nights exposed to freezing temperatures, storms and unsafe conditions, often with limited access to shelter,” says Tara Gerardy-Bissolati, manager of CCID Social Development. “Our aim is to improve quality of life and foster a more inclusive CBD where vulnerable individuals are supported with dignity and care. The Safe Sleeping Zone helps to achieve exactly that.”

Stay tuned to find out how the Safe Sleeping Zone will work and what makes it unique.

During Mental Health Awareness Week, CCID Social Development has launched its Ubuntu Safe Minds Project to document the mental health challenges of the Cape Town CBD’s homeless community while actively supporting vulnerable individuals through a coordinated and collaborative approach.

“We are establishing dedicated mental health teams to provide day and night specialised, continuous, and trauma-informed support”, says Tara Gerardy-Bissolati, manager of CCID Social Development. “The aim to improve early identification, intervention, referral pathways, and ongoing psychosocial support within the urban environment.”

In line with the 2026 theme of Mental Health Awareness Week, namely “Action”, defined as moving beyond awareness to take practical steps to improve mental wellbeing in communities, the CCID’s Social Development department has developed a comprehensive survey tool, working closely with and guided by Dr Marié Venn and Dr John Wulz, both medical doctors with a special interest in psychiatric care.

“We have done a lot of groundwork so that we can better understand the scale, prevalence and complexity of mental health needs among the homeless in town.”

The teams have started the survey across the CCID’s footprint in the CBD, marking an important step toward strengthening evidence-based mental health interventions and support services.

“The data will play a critical role in informing future service delivery, resource allocation, programme planning, and partnership development. Ultimately, the project aims to strengthen interventions and create a more responsive, compassionate, and coordinated mental health support system for some of the city centre’s most vulnerable residents.”