Dear Residents of Melville,

We have a wonderfully giving community – 40 households and generous business contributions enabled over a thousand people to be fed via Harvest SA! There is another drive in the works, the information will be sent out via the various communication channels. Moreover, Six Cocktail Bar, one of our local 7^th Street businesses graciously donated cooked food to Hotel Hope Orphanage. Thank you!

Level 4 lockdown has brought a few simple freedoms and many questions:

How to help: We put together a non-comprehensive info-sheet (below) for the community to address some of the queries that are popping up. An increasing number of displaced persons are seeking assistance, so we have compiled a few options of how you can help or information you can provide to people asking. Moreover, several of our businesses are up and operational on a delivery basis. Please support them if you can to keep our suburb thriving. You can find a list of operational businesses on the I Love Melville website: https://ilovemelville.co.za. If you organise drives for a local charity or an operational local business, please get in touch so we can update our information.

Let’s keep Melville safe and clean: With everyone out enjoying their exercise during the allotted three hours (6am – 9am), let us all participate in keeping our wonderful suburb safe and clean. Kindly leash your dog during exercise times, no matter their size or how well behaved they may be. Please also scoop the poop, since we now have most of the community following the same routes for exercising.

Kindly keep note of driving speeds of 40km per hour through the suburb streets, and perhaps even slower during allotted exercise time, as many toddlers and young children are also enjoying the sunshine!

While out and about, please keep note of any manhole covers you see or street lights that are not working and please report to JRA via (https://www.lookandlog.co.za/log-issue-jra.html), or the JRA app and please also send an email with the reference number to mra-pe@ilovemelville.co.za or log https://mra.ilovemelville.co.za/report/ for us to follow up. At the end of this document is an FAQ sheet from Councilor Steer for your information.

We have been notified of increased crime from level 5 to level 4 lockdown and would like to encourage the community to stay alert and keep your doors and gates locked. Many thanks to Beagle Watch for their increased patrol during the lockdown to keep us safe!

Please stay safe, keep healthy, wear a mask, and check in on your neighbour.

All the best,

MELVILLE KOPPIES  http://mk.org.za/
Three very experienced men are paid full-time and one man is paid part-time man are continuing to receive pay during the lockdown. The organised tours and hikes normally help to cover expenses, but as are not running, these we are short every month. The MK East is also maintained by Wendy, the employees, and volunteers. The City of Johannesburg provides no funds or labour. In addition, unwanted pre-loved goods can also be taken to JUNKIE Charity Store and specify Melville Koppies as the beneficiary.

Melville Koppies Management Committee

Nedbank | Campus square branch | Current account | Account Number 1581 017 421

Ref: email address please so Wendy can thank you

HOPE CHURCH AUCKLAND PARK

Assisting as a Distribution Centre for private donations received from residents. All donations will be distributed to the existing shelters, directly to displaced persons, and to other individuals/organisations who are assisting the homeless and those in need during the lock down period. Cash donations made to JOSH (Johannesburg Organization of Services to The Homeless) will also be used for the same purposes.

FOUNTAIN FOR THIRSTY

Drop-offs in Melville can be arranged by contacting Jeanne (+27 82 645 3873)

For the moment displaced persons can seek the City’s help at:

• 3 Kotze overnight shelter (linked to Governors House)
• Governors House assessment Centre 28 Kotze Street and Queens Road, Hillbrow
• Windsor West assessment Centre 23 Knights Street, Windsor West
• Dan Street assessment Centre 1 Dan Street, Florida and the gate is on 4th Avenue

If you know of a displaced person who would like to go to a shelter, please contact 083 702 6806 or 083 702 6807, and the relevant people will be sent to relocate them. Residents can also contact the City’s Displaced Persons Unit on 011 407 7274.

REGION B DPU - Kebonye Senna – Whatsapp 0832549500 or email kebonyesenna@outlook.com

In order to try and assist the Displaced Persons Unit, an online form is available for you to give Cllr Steer information on any displaced persons or people in need. This will assist the DPU, Social workers and NPO’s / NGO’s in locating and assisting those who need help.

This is the link to the form https://forms.gle/JqC7wGUBqqQ1Xru28

• Wembley Stadium, near the CBD run by CoJ
• God First Parktown North, run by Fountain for Thirsty
• Rosebank Union Church Hurlingham, organised by Fountain for Thirsty
• MES Homeless Shelters and Disaster Relief Care: Joburg CBD, Hillbrow. Starting from Day 1 of the Covid19 Lockdown MES (mould, empower serve) has housed many of our cities homeless over the isolation period in Hillbrow. They are in need of clothing, bedding, coffee, tea and sugar. For Donations: Email: donate@mes.org.za; Contact: Brigitte-MES at +27 82 336 8770

Roving Bantu (125 Caroline Street, Brixton) – runs Monday, Wed, Fri and Sun from corner or Caroline and Asher.

Needs: Help to make food and ingredients for the meal, gloves (medical or washing up), masks, yoghurt tubs with lids for individual meals.

To contribute, contact Ashley: 0832353076

Application for Food Relief

CoJ Social Development Food Relief – WARD 87 (Brixton, Auckland Park, Richmond, Melville, Greenside, Parkview, Westcliff, Forest Town and Parktown West)

" I am compiling lists of residents in need of Food Relief and will be sending it to CoJ Social Development and Province every Tuesday and Friday.

The qualification criteria being applied includes the following:

- 100% unemployment in the family or a combined overall monthly income of less than R 3 600 per family (including employment and grants)

- Normal beneficiaries of Social Development (including those on ART).

Social Development will check the qualification criteria, and then Lerato from Social Development should me know when she is ready to deliver.

Please use this link to apply for Food Relief - https://forms.gle/zxdW5DHy75Y8...

CoJ Social Development is ONLY distributing vegetable parcels from the Market. Recipients will receive an SMS to advise them when to collect their parcel. CoJ will be using Brixton Rec Centre as a collection point. As far as I know Province is distributing nonperishables – maize, oil, sugar, tinned foods etc. We have not received any food support from Province in Region B at this time, so I don’t know what their delivery plans are.

Please note that the protocols for food relief applications seem to change quite a bit. I have compiled this form based on the latest information I have received. I am not responsible for the ultimate delivery or implementation of the list I submit. I am just trying to assist residents, and have no control over the process once the information is submitted." - Ward Cllr Bridget Steer