Youth Month: DSD unlocking youth’s potential

The Western Cape Department of Social Development (DSD) owns and funds seven secure Child and Youth Care Centres (CYCC) for youth in conflict with the law and those that pose behavioral challenges, and funds 53 Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) CYCCs across the province for those in need of care and protection.

23-year-old Marruwaan Meyer, a former resident of Horizon and Bonnytoun CYCC, says the support he received from DSD staff at the facilities he was sentenced to as a teenager, has helped him get to where he is today: completing his final year of study in Office Administration at Boland College and captaining the college’s A-team men’s soccer team.

“My dream is to inspire other young men who come from a similar background to mine to make a positive change in their lives and in their communities. I want to start an NPO that uses sports for youth development and upliftment. While I was in Horizon, the staff constantly told us to think about life after school. I knew I needed to have an exit plan so that I wouldn’t fall back into my old ways,” says Meyer.

Each year, more than 1500 children and youth are taken into DSD secure care centres, and 2880 in NPO CYCCs across the province.

The department also provides probation and diversion services for children involved in less serious crimes to try to prevent them remaining in the system.

“The young people in these facilities come from challenging backgrounds. Many are grappling with various issues such as Substance Use Disorders or gang affiliation. It takes great passion and commitment to ensure they are cared for and supported. This is why I commend the DSD staff who walk alongside young people like Marruwaan, to ensure they go from vulnerability to resilience, so they may inspire others to do the same,” says Provincial Minister of Social Development, Sharna Fernandez.

DSD is committed to supporting vulnerable children and youth, through its 14 funded drop-in centres and 10 Risiha sites in Stellenbosch, George, Wynberg, Houtbay, Swellendam, Delft, Mosselbay, Phillipi, Plettenberg Bay, Sedgefield, Murraysburg, Mitchells Plain, Mowbray, Khayelitsha, Woodstock, Mannenberg, Bishop Lavis and Lavender Hill.

These are community-based, prevention and early intervention programmes developed to enhance efforts to protect, and support orphaned and vulnerable children, some of whom are living in child and youth-headed households, who have chronic health conditions, as well as those living, begging, or working on the streets.

The department also co-funds the Chrysalis Academy, which serves as a platform for youth to unleash their potential through comprehensive development training, enabling them to become agents of positive change.

As part of its Youth Day celebrations, the department will host a Youth Entrepreneurship and Career Exhibition in Saldanha Bay on 19 June to showcase a range of services and opportunities for young people in the West Coast.

For more information about the department’s services, please call our toll-free number 0800 220 250 or visit your nearest Department of Social Development local office. You can also visit https://www.westerncape.gov.za/dept/social-development.