Beneficiaries of our Services
The Open Door Crisis Care Centre has been in existence for the past 11 years and is well known throughout KwaZulu-Natal. Whilst many of our clients attend our centres via word of mouth,people in crisis are referred to The Open Door Crisis Care Centre by numerous authorities and organisations including:
- the South African Police Services;
- church groups;
- hospitals;
- educational facilities;
- businesses;
- other organisations involved in social work;
- government department officials (for example,the Department of Justice and the Department of Social Welfare)
Some examples of the types of people we assist on a daily basis include:
Women who have been raped and violated. The oldest woman The Open Door Crisis Care Centre has assisted through rape was 84 years of age.
Young babies and children of all ages – the youngest was an attempted rape of a 10 month old baby which left her badly bruised and traumatised.
Case Studies
Some specific people we have helped recently include:
Youth Case Study
The Open Door Crisis Care Centre was a major role player in the debriefing of youth after the tragedy in Chatsworth when 17 youth were killed at the Throb nightclub.
A mother of 18 was taken into our shelter when discovered by The Open Door Crisis Care Centre. She has two children aged 1 and 2 years – both children are to her father. The two year old suffers severe epilepsy and is unable to walk or talk. The one year old is so severely deformed half of his skull is pressed in,never having formed properly. The mother had just had an abortion of her third child,again to her father. Through the assistance of the staff at the Open Door Crisis Care Centre with ongoing medical and emotional support,both children are doing well and can now move their limbs independently as well as smile and laugh.
Double Rape Case Study
Recently,two young women were taken hostage and raped. The Open Door Crisis Care Centre assisted them to the hospital and the police station and helped with the taking of the statement and accompanied the women to the district surgeon,thereby ensuring access to urgent anti retroviral medication.
Statistics (taken for the Annual General Report for 2007)
Child Abuse
275 cases of child abuse,230 of which were of a sexual nature/ rape. It is important to note that many men believe the myth that sex with a child or virgin will prevent HIV/AIDS has caused uneducated men to abuse young children.
Adult Abuse
120 cases of adult abuse – a further 165 domestic violence cases alone.
- Successful workshops were run with a total number of 187 people being tested of which 19 people were found to be positive. We were able to offer these clients ongoing counselling and support at The Open Door Crisis Care Centre.
- 175 people were referred to The Open Door Crisis Care Centre for HIV/AIDS testing,whilst a further 859 clients received testing or ongoing medical assistance through CD4 cell counts. Through The Open Door Crisis Care Centre’s awareness campaigns within schools,industries and surrounding areas,we are seeing many teenagers as well as members of the community coming in larger numbers for counselling and testing.
- 22 cases of domestic violence;
- 22 cases of sexual abuse/ rape;
- 5,112 meals and beverages were served.
- Clients received counselling twice a week with play therapy provided to the children as a means of counselling. Networking with other service providers including Child Welfare,the district surgeons and the South African Police Services ensured maximum support for our clients.
Some general statistics
27.15% of Open Door’s clients are under the age of 19. 58.96% of Open Door’s clients are black,29.46% are white,9.03% are Indian and 2.55% are coloured. 62.19% of Open Door’s clients are female.
