The short answer
You can make a sworn affidavit explaining his position and try to apply for it as his parent/guardian.
The whole question
Dear Athalie
My mentally handicapped son is in a care home and has no way to go to Home Affairs or bank to apply for an ID. What alternatives are available for people with disabilities?
The long answer
Unfortunately, Home Affairs has a very poor reputation for being helpful when it comes to vulnerable people like your son. But you need to try them first. So, you could make a sworn affidavit setting out your son’s position and why he cannot attend Home Affairs in person, and take this, together with the details of the care home, a certified copy of his birth certificate and your own ID, to Home Affairs and ask them to help you get him his ID.
If they prove unhelpful, you could take all the documents that you took to Home Affairs to an organisation like the Black Sash, which gives free paralegal advice, for help. These are their details:
Email: help@blacksash.org.za
Helpline: 072 66 33 73, 072 633 3739 or 063 610 1865.
If they cannot get Home Affairs to move on it, you could ask Legal Aid to take it up with Home Affairs. They are a means-tested organisation that must help people who can’t afford a lawyer These are their details:
Tel: 0800 110 110 (Monday to Friday 7AM - 7PM)
Please Call Me: 079 835 7179
You could also ask one of the following organisations for help:
Email: info@lhr.org.za
Tel: Musina 015 534 2203
Durban: 031 301 0531
Pretoria: 012 320 2943
Johannesburg: 011 339 1960
Cape Town: 021 424 8561
Email: info@lrc.org.za
Johannesburg: 011 836 9831
Cape Town: 021 481 3000
Durban: 031 301 7572
Wishing you the best,
Athalie
Answered on May 3, 2024, 1:06 p.m.
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