Guest Speaker – Tara Gerardy-Bissolati
Social Development Manager for the Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID)

In her capacity as the Social Development Manager, Tara Gerardy-Bissolati oversees initiatives designed to improve the lives of the homeless community in Cape Town’s Central Business District. She emphasized the importance of understanding the complexities surrounding homelessness, advocating for a compassionate approach that recognizes the dignity of individuals affected by these issues. Tara’s work reflects a commitment to not only addressing immediate needs, but also empowering individuals to reintegrate into society.

The CCID’s Social Development team engages with the Central City’s most vulnerable on a daily basis, and concentrates much of its effort on assisting street people towards the services they need.

This is a vital component of any downtown that strives to be vibrant, resilient, tolerant and inclusive. The interaction on a daily basis that the CCID’s team provides can assist street people towards a path of reunification with their families, channel them towards appropriate rehabilitation or medical care, refer them for a job opportunity or a skills development programme, or even secure them a safe place for the night.

The team comprises a social worker (Herbert November) and two field workers (Mark Williams and Headman Sirala-rala), managed by Tara who has extensive knowledge in healthcare, substance abuse and psychosocial fields, particularly harm reduction. The team’s work relies on building relationships of trust between the CCID and those in need. To this end, Social Development is acutely aware of the post-Covid needs of, and problems faced by, the homeless population of the Cape Town CBD, emphasising the Power of Partnerships. 

Tara was sincerely thanked for her leadership and the commitment of her team, to positively empower individuals to reintegrate into society.