Residential Care Worker at Cape Mental Health 155 views0 applications


Cape Mental Health, a nonprofit organisation that offers a comprehensive mental health service in the Western Cape.

Cape Mental Health seeks to employ a Residential Care Worker, to be based in Cape Town.

Requirements:

  • fluent in English and Afrikaans/Xhosa
  • Ability to sleep in on the premises and work shifts
  • Ability to complete domestic tasks i.e. laundry, cooking, cleaning etc
  • Training in home-based care would be an advantage
  • Experience in the field of intellectual disability would be an advantage

To apply, submit a CV to [email protected] or fax to 021 448 8475

Enquires: Tel 021 447 9040

More Information

  • Job City Cape Town
  • This job has expired!
Share this job


Prior to 1913, there had been only one major consideration in the provision of mental health services in South Africa – to protect society from those who were considered 'morally defective'.

Historically, people with mental disabilities were treated with fear and loathing. They were kept in chains, thrown into prisons with lepers, criminals and murderers, subjected to corporal punishment, exorcism, shock treatment, bloodletting and purgatives, or hidden away by families who considered them a shameful secret.

With the close of World War II, the discovery of psychotropic medication led to an international wave of mental health care and a dramatic change in the treatment of mental illness. The emphasis gradually shifted from hospitalisation and institutionalisation to today's model of encouraging those with mental disabilities to function within the community through counselling, support and rehabilitation.

In the Cape, a meeting was held in 1913 under the auspices of the Child Life Protection Society, to discuss the problem of vagrancy and prostitution among young women with ‘mental handicap’. A committee was elected, with Sir John Graham as Chairperson, to manage the affairs of the South African Society for the Care of the Feeble-minded.

After the promulgation of the Mental Disorders Act of 1916, the Society split into two in order to specifically address the funding of projects in aid of persons with mental handicap, an area that they felt was not adequately addressed by the new legislation. One section became the Cape Town Committee for the Care of Mental Defectives, which is today known as Adam’s Farm, and the other became the Cape Province Committee for Mental Hygiene, which is today Cape Mental Health.

In the early days, Cape Mental Health worked from a cottage in Harrington Street, Cape town, and then moved to the Fletcher & Cartwright Building in Adderley Street. In the mid-60s the organisation moved to Namaqua House, finally finding its home in 1972 in Observatory House at 22 Ivy Street.

At the time of our Golden Jubilee in 1963, the organisation ran the following services:

  • clinical and social work
  • a Child Guidance Clinic (to our knowledge, at the time the only clinic of this kind for ‘non-European’ children in Southern Africa)
  • a Clinic for Mental Disorders and Mental Defects
  • an Occupational Day Centre for ‘defective children’ in the Athlone area
  • Garden Cottage in Maitland, catering for 24 ‘mentally defective’ Coloured boys and girls aged 2 to 12,
  • Torrance Home in Steenberg, accommodating 50 ‘mentally defective’ Coloured boys aged 10 to 18.

The organisation also invested its energy in research, education for prevention, and celebration of Mental Health Week. By 1988, our 75th Anniversary, the number of projects run by our organisation had expanded to eleven.

As the oldest mental health organisation in South Africa and a founding member of the World Federation for Mental Health (formed in London in 1948), Cape Mental Health is proud of the groundbreaking work it has done in the past 100 years, especially in poorly resourced communities.

Connect with us
0 USD Cape Town CF 3201 Abc road Full Time , 40 hours per week Cape Mental Health (CMH)

Cape Mental Health, a nonprofit organisation that offers a comprehensive mental health service in the Western Cape.

Cape Mental Health seeks to employ a Residential Care Worker, to be based in Cape Town.

Requirements:

  • fluent in English and Afrikaans/Xhosa
  • Ability to sleep in on the premises and work shifts
  • Ability to complete domestic tasks i.e. laundry, cooking, cleaning etc
  • Training in home-based care would be an advantage
  • Experience in the field of intellectual disability would be an advantage

To apply, submit a CV to [email protected] or fax to 021 448 8475

Enquires: Tel 021 447 9040

2018-06-30

NGO Jobs in Africa | NGO Jobs

Ngojobsinafrica.com is Africa’s largest Job site that focuses only on Non-Government Organization job Opportunities across Africa. We publish latest jobs and career information for Africans who intends to build a career in the NGO Sector. We ensure that we provide you with all Non-governmental Jobs in Africa on a consistent basis. We aggregate all NGO Jobs in Africa and ensure authenticity of all jobs available on our site. We are your one stop site for all NGO Jobs in Africa. Stay with us for authenticity & consistency.

Stay up to date

Subscribe for email updates

March 2024
MTWTFSS
« Jan  
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
RSS Feed by country: