She smiles broadly and greets everyone as she drives through the streets of Langlaagte, Mayfair, Vrededorp and Vredepark, the Region F areas she oversees.
“Hello, aunty Yola,” Alicia Meniers, a City of Johannesburg Social Worker, greets one of the community activists in the area. She knows the streets like the palm of her hand. “I have to know the streets for when an emergency arises to respond quickly,” Meniers says.
She stops at the Crosby Informal Settlement and walks through the muddy pathways in black boots. She’s saddened to hear about the passing of an elderly woman who was a beneficiary of the City’s food security programme.
She also provides counselling and therapy to individuals and grief-stricken families who have been through traumatic experiences such as natural disasters, evictions, and social burials.
“We are on the ground when disaster strikes to assist affected families. We deal with vulnerable individuals, groups, and families in terms of finding homes for displaced people, collaborating with unemployed people, and linking them up with our skills development unit. We work with different departments in the City such as the Food unit, Women and Children, the Displaced People’s unit, and our prevention of substance abuse centres,” she adds.
Meniers says her work grants her the opportunity to fight for social justice, advocate for and lobby for vulnerable people in all times and spheres of life. She hails from Potchefstroom, North West.
“I come from a family of five sisters. My parents had a toxic relationship for most of our lives with them. Our maternal and paternal families mostly raised us. That gave me perseverance and resilience to go for what I wanted and never to let my circumstances determine my path in life or destination. Becoming a Social Worker just cemented it.”
Meniers has over 20 years of experience in the profession. After completing her studies at the University of North West, she worked as a social worker at Johannesburg Child Welfare in 1999. In 2002, she joined Abraham Kriel Children’s Home where she provided therapeutic and counselling services to abused and neglected children. During her stint at the Department of Social Development in Nigel, she rendered services such as intermediation, early intervention, foster care, and adoption. She also worked at Rata Social Services and the intermediary Department of Justice before joining the City in 2019.
“I love my job. Helping people improve their lives and living conditions gives me a sense of purpose. So many incidents in the past have made me joyful to be a social worker,” she says.
Written by Brümilda Swartbooi
10/06/2022