Briefing Paper 580 – Homelessness by Lois Law
South Africa is home to approximately 200 000 homeless people.2 Homelessness refers to those who live on the street and are without safe shelter. It is this population who are also referred to as ‘street people’, those individuals who have no access to a roof or shelter, live and sleep on the streets for a number of reasons, and have done so for any period of time.3 ‘Street’ in this regard, refers to open abodes used as ‘homes’ by homeless people; these street ‘homes’ include pavements, streets, gutters, benches, railway stations, bus terminals, parks, and bridges.