36 residents of the Sunfield Home Fortuna in Balfour, a home for disabled people, will have their already precarious lives shattered if the Department of Social Development in Mpumalanga has its way.
The government agency requests that at least 36 “sub-economic residents” be relocated from Sunfield, a facility that opened in 1991 and currently serves 67 people with mental and/or physical disabilities.
Sunfield’s current financial situation is dire, as it is for most government-supported organizations such as nursing homes and special needs facilities.
There are currently 36 people living in Sunfield, all of whom are supported by a monthly subsidy from the department of roughly R1,900. At the beginning of each quarter, you will receive your payment.
There are 67 people living in South Australia, and each receives a pension from the state’s Social Security Agency.
The other 31 people living there are called “private residents” because they receive no government assistance.
“The average private rent in South Africa is R7,000 per month. The families are responsible for this “That’s what Gouws said.
After Sunfield’s management and board of directors requested more funding for this population to meet their basic needs, the department made the sudden decision to “relocate” the 36 “state-sponsored” residents.
The institution faces a serious challenge because the subsidy is not enough to cover the basic needs of its residents, especially when inflation is considered “According to Gouws.
“For this reason, the facility will resort to virtually any fundraising strategy if it means ensuring the residents’ continued health and well-being.
It’s completely unfair that at least two other homes within a 50-kilometer radius of Sunfield get twice as much government aid as we do to care for their residents.
We reached out to both the department and the MEC, Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, for comment, but had not heard back at the time of publication. As soon as it arrives, it will be incorporated.
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