Nestled in the centre of bustling Hatfield, Moja Gabedi and Reliable House are two University of Pretoria (UP) community engagement sites that are making a world of difference. Moja Gabedi was previously an illegal dumping site and Reliable House was a run-down space teeming with criminal activity. These sites are now model facilities for the restoration of homeless individuals and people who use drugs (PWUD), and facilitate their reintegration into the community. Importantly, it is the interconnectedness between these sites that enhances their efficacy in enriching the lives of vulnerable individuals in our society.

Reliable House was established by the University of Pretoria in 2017 and provides a place of safety and the fulfilment of basic needs for up to twenty homeless men in the area. Many of these men use/d drugs, and Reliable House offers a way for them to build and rebuild skills and improve their circumstances. It is through Reliable House that the clients can access housing, food and employment opportunities that would otherwise not be readily available to them. In terms of health- and social services, the Community-oriented Substance Use Programme (COSUP) operates from Reliable House. It is a partnership between the City of Tshwane and the Community Oriented Primary Care (COPC) Research Unit that falls under the UP Department of Family Medicine, which provides medical and psycho-social services to PWUD through a harm-reduction approach.

In 2020, the success achieved with Reliable House led to the establishment of Moja Gabedi, a beautiful community garden that is an oasis in the centre of the city. With green expanses of lawns, flourishing flower beds, vegetable gardens, animals (such as bunnies, peacocks and ducks) and walkways, it provides many unique benefits for the residents of Reliable House that set it apart from other programmes. 

Moja Gabedi offers a change of environment and immersion in nature. Most of the Reliable House residents’ daily tasks are undertaken within the narrow borders of the Reliable House property. Boredom is one of the major indicators for substance use relapse, to which this potential isolation contributes negatively. However, having access to the Moja Gabedi grounds offers the residents an opportunity for a change in scenery and some variety in their environment. Since Moja Gabedi is situated diagonally across the road from Reliable House, the residents can easily move between these spaces and feel more integrated in the community structures. 

It is well recognised that time spent in nature and in sunlight significantly improves mental health. Both homelessness and substance use are fundamentally linked to the experience of mental health problems. Immersion in the rich, natural Moja Gabedi environment can therefore lead to an improvement in well-being for residents with mental health struggles. 

Moja Gabedi also offers a space in which residents can experience some solitude. At Reliable House, the residents share small units in groups and are rarely able to be alone. The gardens provide a space in which they can temporarily experience respite and exist alone in nature, without needing to consider any of the nuances of interacting with others. 

Significantly, Moja Gabedi also provides full-time employment for at least four Reliable House residents who receive a monthly stipend for gardening work, maintenance and security. Within the context of homelessness, money and financial management are difficult concepts to address. However, the combination of receiving a steady income and not having living expenses provides an opportunity to save for their futures, invest in skills development (such as obtaining driver’s licenses), and have increased independence with regard to managing their financial situation. 

These duties also allow the employees to feel a sense of ownership and responsibility. Due to societal stigma surrounding both homelessness and substance use, these residents are not necessarily trusted and respected by the rest of the community. By trusting the residents with key responsibilities at Moja Gabedi, their self-esteem and sense of belonging is greatly improved. They are also able to experience a sense of ownership of the grounds, as they have tangibly contributed to the structures and environment at Moja Gabedi. Coming from a context associated with having little of your own, this ownership is essential for an improved sense of self-worth.
 
Furthermore, engaging in daily tasks and routine has been found to be vitally important in improving mental wellbeing and consistency (Grant, 2022). These employed individuals are able to contribute meaningfully to the upkeep of the beautiful gardens, experience pride in their work, reduce boredom and are productively occupied during the day. Reliable House residents not working at Moja Gabedi are employed at Springbok Park in a similar manner on a weekly cyclical basis, thus allowing them to experience similar benefits, albeit on a smaller scale, while improving the surrounding community spaces. 

Moja Gabedi also provides a conducive space for Reliable House residents to participate in a variety of therapeutic group sessions. Throughout the year, social work and occupational therapy students work at the sites in work-integrated learning fieldwork blocks and also collaborate with a non-profit organisation, Pitsa Ya Mamepe, which provides skills development by repurposing ‘trash’ into sellable products. These skills groups and support groups, operating out of Moja Gabedi workspaces and grounds, equip the residents with skills to enhance their transition back into their families, the workplace and the community. 

Moja Gabedi and Reliable House are two sites that have been established in Hatfield and provide immense benefit to the community. Each site is pivotal in the functioning of the other. Moja Gabedi provides a new and enriching environment, employment opportunities, ownership, routine and a unique setting for therapeutic services for Reliable House residents. It is a perfectly maintained natural sanctuary in the centre of a concrete city, which can also be utilised by students and community members. It is the symbiotic relationship between them that truly reflects the benefits of these community engagement programmes.

References
Grant, J. 2022. The OT Hub. [Online] Available at: https://www.theothub.com/article/the-power-of-routine [Accessed: 2023-03-04].

Acknowledgements
Emmanuel Maringa, Innocent Chauke and Cynthia Magoai (Reliable House, Moja Gabedi and COSUP staff)