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The Bellhaven Harm Reduction Centre is a place of hope for its beneficiaries. It provides an opportunity for homeless and low-income people to resolve their drug use disorders through the provision of medical assisted treatment and psycho social services in an environment that is non-judgmental and supportive. The Centre, through its interventions, provides a platform for healthy living, life normalization, and quality of life improvements. These quality-of-life indicators are multiple, and include: reconnection with significant others; adherence to chronic medication; self-care; radical reduction in negative encounters with the criminal justice system; opportunities for income generation; and the rebuilding of a sense of self.

Bellhaven Harm Reduction Centre, in a short period of time, has become recognized as a model for the provision of community-based harm reduction services in South Africa. The Deputy Minister of Social Development, Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, is determined to replicate this model in other parts of the country. Since its inception in June 2020, the Centre has received significant media attention for its commitment to a collaborative and innovative approach to providing harm reduction services. It is regularly featured in local newspapers, and its Directors have been interviewed as part of SABC, Carte Blanche and Check Point programmes.

The BHRC was selected by the South African Cities Network as one of four national ‘Good Hood’ stories – a showcasing of excellence in placemaking in municipality spaces. In addition, the Centre and its team was selected for the HSRC/USAF 2020 Inaugural Team Award for Excellence in Contribution of the Social Sciences and Humanities to Covid-19 and the Durban University of Technology’s Data Day Award for the best ‘societal’ response to existing data, and the 2020 DUT Community Engagement Award.