The following programmes are offered to residents at The Pride Shelter Trust on an ongoing basis. These programmes focus primarily on self-leadership and how inner conflicts, conversations and values can lead to action in the humanistic paradigm. Regular monthly check-ins with residents are compulsory.
Our Most Recent Performance Progress:
This quarter saw strong results, with 16 residents successfully reintegrated into society over three months, bringing the cumulative total to 24 exits since April 2025.
We have entered a new collaboration with Project 90by2030, to strengthen the capacity building and facilitation efforts across programmes.
The Desmond Tutu foundation launched a new Public Health Care Programme, with the shelter serving an advisory role in the development process.
The Shelter’s Wilderness programme was successfully implemented, running sessions every second week and attracting new residents consistently.
New Programmes
Psycho Social Support:
This programme promotes mental health by providing emotional support and coping strategies. It teaches trauma navigation and provides access to counselling, education and legal assistance. We aid social integration by fostering deep and meaningful community connections. The programme helps to lessen the stigma around mental health. It empowers individuals to rebuild their lives and make informed decisions.
Gender Affirming Health Services:
We provide accessible and inclusive care, removing barriers to healthcare and ensuring that services are welcoming to all gender identities. The programme provides access to hormone therapy, surgical options and general healthcare tailored to gender-diverse needs.
Harm Reduction:
We promote health and enhance safety by offering awareness around issues such as substance abuse and wound care.
Programmes offered
‘My Structured Journey’ self-development programme
The My Structured Journey sessions provide residents and external participants with a space to engage with humanistic theories in both psychology and sociology. This follow a step-to-step approach to understand realistic goal setting, self-confidence and self-worth. Residents interrogate the SMART modality framework, time management principles, emotional intelligence and communication. Importantly, participants learn how self-leadership and emotional intelligence find their space in action and impact.
Life skills Training
The Life skills training development programme is a highly interactive skills-based programme that provides support in terms of human identity, agency and psychosocial wellness. Part of the outcomes in this programme includes identifying concerns, human expectations and goals. Participants unpack what is meant by crisis and trauma, stigma and discrimination, substance abuse, depression, anxiety, upliftment and change. The seminal works of Erikson stages of psychosocial development and Dabrowski’s narratives and autopsychotherapy are integrated as theoretical frameworks during this programme.
Health and Wellness: Beyond my Physical Journey
The Physical Health and Wellness programme encapsulates the state of health and wellbeing during the residents’ stay. The focus is placed on basic nutrition, physical activities, mindfulness and sexual health discussions. Diet, regular exercise and adequate rest (relaxation) after trauma are also emphasised during this programme. In 2021, Yoga was integrated with the shelter’s physical health and wellness offerings.
Employment readiness programme
The Employment readiness skills programme focuses on technological advances, economic shifts and changing social norms in searching, finding and securing employment. Key areas dealt with are curriculum readiness, knowledge and skills as employability requirements, transferable skills and context. Outcomes of this programmes would be on how to conduct job searches, informational interviews, labour market research, create networks and professional digital footprints, compile cover letters and curriculum vitae, acquire interview skills, entrepreneurial skills and understanding the job market criteria. Community outreaches on this programme will commence in July 2021.
Spiritual Programme
The spiritual programme aligns sexual identity with faith, through an all-inclusive lens of beliefs and practices. The focus is on deepening spiritual awareness with the self and renew human strength as a result of trauma. The spiritual programme includes counselling services at the Pride Shelter Trust. Additional outcomes also include reconciliation with the family, and focus group discussions.
Gender-based violence (GBV) Shelter support
The eradication of gender-based support programmes are offered to assist local communities on the Cape Flats area of the Western Cape. This programme is steered by Pride Shelter staff, in collaboration with social media influencers across South Africa. In 2022, programmes will be expanded to peri-urban and marginalised areas of the Western Cape. The purpose of this initiative aims to address physical violence, psychological violence, sexual violence, economic violence, violence against the LGBTQI and systemic violence. This address will look at new and innovative ways to eradicate and address GBV as an evasive issue in local communities.
Nutritional Food Relief
Breakfast, Lunch and Supper are offered to residents. Food security parcels are also distributed to displaced and surrounding homeless individuals.
Broader Community Outreach
Broader community support is provided through teleconferencing, local and provincial interaction, information sessions, awareness programmes and workshops. These forms of support will be mediated through a hybrid (face-to-face and virtual) modes, and are organised by Pride Shelter staff, social media influencers and South African celebrities. A brochure of all activities can be acquired from our offices as from July 2021.
Get involved
There are lots of ways to get involved with this year’s programmes. Find out more here!
Our Model
The Circle of Courage and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs are two universal humanistic theories that Pride Shelter Trust adapted throughout our services. Pride Shelter Trust model incorporated the theories and speaks to 4 pillars:
- Personal Development and Leadership: “Who am I & Self -Acceptance?”
- Psycho-Social Support: “Reclaiming your Power & How to navigate through the trauma?”
- Physical Health and Wellness: “How to take of Self?”
- Reunification and Reintegration: “How do I show up in this world as a LGBTQIA+ persxn as my true-self?”
Pride Shelter Trust 