Site Identified for Homeless Shelter In Portland
By: , June 19, 2023
Photo: Michael Sloley
Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie (second left), makes a point to Chief Technical Director in the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development, Dwight Wilson (left), during a tour of the site for a homeless shelter in Port Antonio, on June 16. Also pictured (from third left) are Member of Parliament for Portland Eastern, Ann-Marie Vaz and Mayor or Port Antonio, Councillor Paul Thompson. The homeless shelter will be built on the compound of the parish’s poor relief office.The Full Story
The homeless in Portland will soon have access to a shelter, following the identification of a suitable site for the facility by Local Government and Community Development Minister, Hon. Desmond McKenzie.
“This is the location; we’re at the poor relief office in Port Antonio. It is the ideal location that we will now use to house the shelter for the homeless population,” Mr. McKenzie told journalists during a visit to the parish on Friday (June 16).
The poor relief department falls under the office of the Portland Municipal Corporation, and its compound, on which the homeless shelter will be built, is located on West Baptist Avenue, beside the Port Antonio Fire Station.
Minister McKenzie informed that instructions have been given to both the Ministry and the Portland Municipal Corporation “to do what is necessary in order to put in motion the work that is required to get it done”.
When completed, it is expected that the shelter will be able to house about 25 to 30 persons.
In the meantime, Minister McKenzie, who has long been calling for the Municipal Corporation to identify a site for the shelter, outlined the urgency of the situation.
“We’re in the third week of the hurricane season, and whilst the forecast is for a moderate hurricane season… a simple shower of rain, like what we have been having over the last couple of weeks, has caused damage in excess of $150 million and it’s climbing,” he explained.
“So, whatever we can do to ensure that we have somewhere for the homeless population, which is growing in Portland, we need to have it done,” the Minister added.
He said that in addition to the Mayor and the CEO of the Municipal Corporation, the Chief Technical Officer in the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development has also been tasked with commencing the process of building the shelter immediately.