Halfway house celebrates anniversary

Former offenders embrace second chance at rejoining society

The Sam-loughlane Halfway House in Nahoon this week celebrated one year of helping women former convicts reintegrate into society.

In March 2022, a dilapidated hovel and drug den was transformed into a safe house after local business owners and community members rallied to assist Clean Slate NPO’S Brian Francis in reaching his goal.

Francis, a Daily Dispatch Local Hero winner in 2021, said the home could not have stayed open without the backing of local businesses and the community.

“We are grateful to the corporate sector, the wider East London community and the local churches — we’ve got churches popping in and bringing food when it just so happens we don’t have any,” Francis said.

“If it were not for you we would be unable to support and help people.”

“I think we can gladly say things have been looking good. We’ve had our ups and downs, but along the line we’ve seen people grow from leaving prison to becoming employed.”

The halfway house accommodates six women and a house mother, and provides counselling, skills development and help with job seeking.

“We’ve had about six women this year. One woman got a job and left, and another woman still staying with us is teaching TEFL, a course on teaching English online.

“But it’s been challenging. One woman absconded, we’ve had break-ins, we are on our fourth gas bottle because they keep getting stolen and our copper pipes have been stolen.

“We are now upping security.”

Francis said plans included transforming an outhouse into an emergency room for abused women for immediate care.

“We have a campaign called ‘adopt a bed’, and are looking for people to sponsor us for R1,500 a month.

“We have seven beds and will add four in the emergency room. The money will go towards utilities, transport to counselling, skills development and overall training.”

Social development MEC Bukiwe Fanta visited the halfway house and donated blankets, toiletries and sanitary products.

“I have heard a lot of stories about the good work this centre does,” Fanta said.

“When we have organisations like Clean Slate integrating ex-offenders back into communities, helping us as a department in achieving our mandate, it makes life easy.”

Speaking to the crowd gathered to celebrate the anniversary on Thursday, Fanta encouraged ex-offenders to embrace their second chance at rejoining society.

“Yes, you might have made mistakes, but you are here now, you have served your time and we have no doubt you have learnt your lessons.

“It’s time you went back to the communities you once wronged and started giving back — and this centre is a passage to that.

“But as you spend time here, it is very important that you forgive yourself first.”

She said the department was engaging with Nicro and the private sector to raise funds for the centre.

They also wanted to get correctional services on board to tap into their reintegration funds.

Former convict Allison Botha, 42, who has been at the centre since its inception, spent six months in prison for assault.

“I have a new state of mind. I didn’t have goals, but now I want to be independent and reunited with my family.

“My children are happy that I’m here, and I want to be a good mother to them.”

DA ward councillor Jayson Mcdowell praised the centre for coping for a year.

“This house was abandoned and used by vagrants, drug dealers and people heavily linked to crime — now a small piece of that crime percentage has been stopped.”

Nate Padayachee, of Nate’s Car Sales, was the first to sign up for the “adopt a bed” sponsorship programme with a R15,000 donation.

“Brian set out to do something and he has achieved it. It’s awesome to be a part of something that changes lives and creates hope.”