St. Mary Resident Receives ‘Dream Home’ Through The NSHP

After losing her house to fire and facing unimaginable personal tragedies, St. Mary resident, Judith Watson, is seeing brighter days having received her ‘dream home’ under the Government’s New Social Housing Programme (NSHP).

Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, on Wednesday (September 25) handed over a brand-new three-bedroom unit, which will allow Ms. Watson to provide a stable and secure shelter for herself, children and grandchildren.

Ms. Watson lost her spouse, who did not return after going out to sea and lost one of her daughters to a brain tumour. Following the fire that destroyed her home, she was living under a structure covered only by tarpaulin.

“Today, I am in my dream home. I am, indeed, grateful [as] I couldn’t afford to build [this] house,” she said.

Prime Minister Holness in his remarks, outlined the significance of the NSHP in bringing hope to Jamaicans in situations like Ms. Watson.

“There is now an enduring programme supported by a budget that will, over the long run, ensure that any Jamaican who falls in this situation of having no means, no income, is the victim of unfortunate circumstances… the Government can intervene and assist you. That speaks to the core of the Government, that whatever we do we must ensure that the poor and the most vulnerable are never left behind,” Dr. Holness said.

The Prime Minister noted that an estimated 6,000 households in Jamaica are in this kind of circumstance.

To date, the NSHP has built 258 units in which approximately 900 Jamaicans are housed.

The programme is constituency-driven and in Ms. Watson’s case, her situation was brought to light by Member of Parliament for St. Mary Western, Robert Montague.

Providing further details of the initiative, Prime Minister Holness explained that under the NSHP, “we use the existing land occupied by the beneficiary and we build a proper structure that is sized to the household.”

Meanwhile, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Arlene Williams, was filled with emotion as Ms. Watson told her story.

“There is not a dry eye when I look around here today having listened to Ms. Watson’s story. These are the persons that we target – the most vulnerable persons – as we lift them out of poverty. We bring hope to them,” Mrs. Williams said.

The NSHP was established in 2018 by Prime Minister Holness. It is the housing component of the Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) programme, which is implemented through the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation.