Healing Hands Foundation in Port Elizabeth opened a safe home for abused women and children on Friday.
They partnered with the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality, private sector, business and the Treatment Action Campaign.
The foundation was founded eight years ago by Magdeliene Bangaree, which started with a nutrition campaign in Central and surrounding areas.
She said the partnership between the various sectors meant the improvement of their plight and giving many more women and children the support they needed.
"As Healing Hands Foundation we have seen the need in Central of the many women that are being abused and the children and people used to be referred to me and I used to take them in at my place and I saw the need to open a place because we have got a small place and we have to rent out our rooms. So let's hope this partnership is going to strengthen this place and help many more women in need because we are here to give the support that they need," Bangaree said.
Deputy executive mayor, Mongameli Bobani, said they partnered with Healing Hands, after they identified an epidemic of drug abuse, crime, and high HIV/AIDS cases in Central.
"This is what we want as government from the business community, that's the reason why we are forming a partnership with the private sector. We also want to appeal to other private sectors to come forward" he said.
Meanwhile, the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality says it will be partnering with the Humewood Crime Prevention Unit to tackle social ills in the Central area.
Bobani led a World Aids Day march to the police station on Friday to hand over a memorandum to Station Commander, Brigadier, Ronald Koll.
The memorandum contained a list of 12 demands, which included an appeal for SAPS to work with the municipality and two representatives to join the HIV/AIDS council.
Bobani said the municipality wanted to make sure that central was a safe place this festive season, and added that he wanted criminal activity to come to a stop.
After signing the memorandum, Brigadier Koll said the police would make a call to work closer with the Department of Justice to ensure identified criminals did not return to the area.
