Community Intervention Centre

In May 2001, the Community Intervention Centre opened its doors in the Blaauwberg area of Cape Town's northern Atlantic Seaboard — a coastline of affluent suburbs, beach towns, and diverse communities that, beneath its surface, carries the same burden of trauma, GBV, and crime as any other South African area. CIC was founded on a single driving conviction: that people in crisis — whether from domestic violence, sexual assault, robbery, accident, or any other trauma — need immediate, professional, compassionate support, and that this support must be free, available around the clock, and delivered where people actually are.

Twenty-four years later, CIC is fully embedded in the SAPS structure of the Milnerton precinct. Its office at Tableview SAPS is not incidental; it reflects a deliberate choice to be where survivors are most likely to arrive, and to ensure that the interface between a survivor and the police is accompanied by professional trauma and victim support services. CIC also operates at other Victim Support centres across the Milnerton precinct.

The 24/7 Free Helpline

The most important thing for survivors to know: 082 821 3447 — free, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Whether it is midnight on a weekend, or a public holiday, or a moment of crisis without words, this number connects callers to the CIC team.

Programmes

General Counselling Short-term trauma intervention, typically limited to one or two sessions following a traumatic event. For acute trauma — a recent assault, a burglary, an incident of GBV — CIC provides immediate psychological first aid. This is the service most survivors first need: to be heard, to be stabilised, to be helped to understand what their options are.

Victim Empowerment Programme (VEP) The VEP, aligned with the SAPS Victim Empowerment Programme framework, supports victims and survivors of crime and violence — and their families — to deal with the impact of what has happened, understand their rights, and take the steps needed to move forward. CIC's VEP work directly covers GBV, working with survivors from the moment they come into contact with SAPS through the subsequent process of reporting, accessing medical care, and navigating the criminal justice system.

Awareness Programmes Community education about victim rights — empowering the broader Blaauwberg community to know what support is available, to recognise trauma and GBV in those around them, and to know how to help.

Training Division

CIC's training programmes have become a substantial pillar of its work — providing the Blaauwberg area with a community of trained trauma counsellors and crisis responders, and offering accredited short courses to professionals and community members across South Africa:

• 14-Week Trauma Training Programme (mandatory for all CIC volunteers; teaches on-site trauma intervention and support in line with SAPS VEP requirements)
• 8-Week Personal Growth Course (emotional intelligence, self-esteem, communication, stress reduction, conflict resolution)
• Basic Counselling Skills — Online, 5 sessions (Egan Model; stages I and II; listening, empathy, paraphrasing, questioning)
• Dealing with Grief and Loss — Online, 5 sessions
• Dealing with Anxiety — Online, 4 sessions
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy — Online, 10 sessions
• Addiction Support Course — Current intake (April 2025)

SAPS and Hospital Integration

CIC operates in full cooperation with the South African Police Service (Tableview and Milnerton stations) and with Blaauwberg Netcare and Milnerton Mediclinic. This integration means CIC counsellors can be present at SAPS and hospitals when survivors arrive — reducing the gap between the moment of crisis and the moment of support.

Community Intervention Centre: 18 Pentz Drive, Table View, Cape Town, 7441 (based at Tableview SAPS). 24/7 FREE Helpline: 082 821 3447. Office: 061 403 5316. Email: manager@cic-capetown.org. Website: communityinterventioncentre.co.za. Instagram: @community_intervention_centre_. Founded May 2001.