Parklands homeless woman gets help
The homeless woman who has lived in her white Hyundai along Parklands Main Road for several years has finally given up the fight and has moved to an old age home, says ward councillor Jonathan Mills.
Known as Kobie to some and Obie to others, she is believed to be in her mid-70s and has lived in her car along the main road for about 10 years.
Tabletalk met her in 2021 after residents complained about her living conditions.
She introduced herself as Carlie, but her conversations veered off from the main topic and spoke about events dating back to 1988 when she had apparently lived on a farm with her family.
Her car had been boarded up with cardboard boxes and there had been bricks and blue municipal garbage bags around its wheels.
Tabletalk did not run a story at the time as some of the information she provided could not be verified.
Instead, Table View resident Philippe Roche, one of the complainants at the time, emailed the City about the matter and continued to do so up until Thursday June 20 of this year.
The woman agreed to leave her car on Wednesday October 23.
Over the years, many had tried to assist her, but she had refused the help, said Mr Mills.
City social workers, with help from province’s Health and Social Development departments and the City’s Traffic Services, had struggled to get the woman to agree to leave, he said.
Because of her age, the Department of Social Development, under the Older Persons Act, was permitted to intervene and assist with a long-term plan for the “treatment and care that she needs”, he said.
The woman’s identity and new home were being withheld because she was deemed vulnerable due to the state of her mental health state, said Mr Mills.
Traffic Services had helped to remove the vehicle from Parklands Main Road and it was being stored at a City facility, he said.
“This was a complex situation and had taken almost a year to get the result it finally did. We now believe that she will be able to live her older years in a more dignified fashion.”
Mr Mills thanked the community for providing care and support to the woman over the years.
Hundreds of residents sent well wishes to the woman on the Greater Table View Action Forum’s (GTAF) Facebook page after a member, Karen Davis, posted a message thanking Mr Mills and everyone else who helped with the woman’s move.
Colleen Pietersen, founder of the TLC Outreach Projects charity, said it was reassuring that the woman’s dignity had been restored and that she would have a warm meal and a hot bath.
For more information about the woman, contact Mr Mills at 083 668 5050.
