The Talisman Foundation, a long-standing mental healthcare provider licensed for 200 mental health care users by the Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH), is facing imminent eviction from its premises in Johannesburg.
Represented by SECTION27, the Talisman Foundation has occupied the property, owned by the Old Apostolic Church, for approximately 22 years, consistently meeting its rental obligations. On 12 February 2026, the Talisman Foundation received notice to vacate the premises by 14 May 2026. Despite requests for further engagement and a 12-month extension to secure alternative accommodation for its residents, the landlord declined to negotiate further on 10 March 2026 and confirmed the eviction deadline.
The Talisman Foundation approached the GDoH for interim support while it seeks suitable alternative premises to which it can relocate its residents, including a number of elderly residents up to 84 years of age. This includes an extension of its licence and funding.
In response, the GDoH focused on alleged non-compliance arising from the landlord’s termination of the lease, threatened suspension of the Talisman Foundation’s licence, and unilaterally imposed a relocation plan on the residents of the Talisman Foundation. All of this was done without any meaningful consultation with the impacted mental health care users (MHCUs), and their families, or with the Talisman Foundation which has provided expert care to the MHCUs for over five decades. Many of the families and residents have received no communication from the GDoH regarding the relocation. This is despite legal obligations requiring the GDoH to consult with MHCUs and organisations representing MHCUs in any decisions impacting on their rights and lives. The failure to meaningfully consult with MHCUs perpetuates the long-standing exclusion of persons with disabilities in decision-making and goes against the critical principle of “nothing about us without us”.
The proposed relocation plan by GDoH raises urgent concerns. The process appears rushed, unclear, and potentially dangerous, with a lack of transparency regarding the process undertaken to identify, inspect and vet facilities to which residents will be transferred; and whether these facilities have sufficient capacity and are located near residents’ families. Three of the facilities to which residents will be moved were involved in the Life Esidimeni tragedy, which further heightens concerns regarding the safety and health of the MHCUs.
The process undertaken by the GDoH has had an adverse impact on the MHCUs, causing great distress and anxiety to residents who fear suffering the same fate as those in the Life Esidimeni tragedy. Residents have expressed concern regarding being transferred from the Talisman Foundation, which they have described as a “home”, “place of safety” and “safe haven”.
Rather than pursuing a fragmented and high-risk relocation process, GDoH should prioritise supporting the Talisman Foundation as a functioning, compliant, and trusted care provider. While the eviction remains a concern, it is within the GDoH’s power to prevent a humanitarian crisis. This includes engaging with the landlord to secure an extension, while ensuring that no resident is placed at risk due to administrative or planning failures.
This case is not simply a housing matter. It is a test of the GDoH’s commitment to safeguarding the lives, dignity, and wellbeing of some of the province’s most vulnerable residents. GDoH has both a legal and moral obligation to ensure that any transition involving mental healthcare users is carefully planned, transparent, safe and takes into account the views and interests of all stakeholders. At present, there is no evidence that this obligation is being fulfilled.
The Life Esidimeni tragedy, in which 141 MHCUs died following poorly managed transfers, stands as a stark warning. South Africa cannot afford to repeat the failures of the past.
For media enquiries contact:
Pearl Nicodemus | nicodemus@section27.org.za | 082 298 2636
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