St. Catherine Mother of Five Receives Lifeline Under New Social Housing Programme

Thirty-two-year-old Natoya Pearson of Reynolds District, Point Hill, St. Catherine, and her five children are the latest beneficiaries of a brand-new home provided under the Government’s New Social Housing Programme (NSHP).

Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, presented her with the keys to the three-bedroom unit during a handover ceremony on Wednesday (July 16).

Having previously lived in a deteriorating board structure, Ms. Pearson expressed heartfelt gratitude for her new home, noting that it will allow her and her children to “sleep well” and enjoy separate rooms for the first time.

“We are thankful and we are grateful for this. Before, I was living in a bad condition… the house wasn’t proper for me and my kids. So today, I am so overwhelmed to be here, with the Prime Minister handing over a lovely house to me and my children. Thank you all,” she said.

In his remarks, Dr. Holness reiterated that the NSHP is having a profound and positive impact on the welfare of Jamaica’s most vulnerable citizens, particularly those living in dire housing conditions.

He indicated that, through the programme, shelter has been provided to more than 1,000 Jamaicans.

Dr. Holness said the programme has been scaled up, noting that “from being able to deliver one or two houses, we can now deliver up to eight, nine, 10 houses per week, based on what we have under construction”.

In acknowledging that land availability remains a constraint to the rapid expansion of the NSHP, the Prime Minister advised that the next iteration of the initiative will be modified to include the provision of land for eligible beneficiaries.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Holness highlighted the Government’s extensive social safety net programme, which is designed to support vulnerable Jamaican, particularly in facilitating shelter,  and emphasised that billions of dollars are spent annually to uplift those most in need.

These interventions include the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development’s Indigent Housing Programme, the Housing Fund administered through agencies like the Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ), National Housing Trust (NHT) home grants, as well as drop-in centres and infirmaries that provide shelter and care for vulnerable populations.

The New Social Housing Programme (NSHP), implemented under the Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) initiative with oversight by the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, aims to improve the housing conditions of Jamaica’s most vulnerable citizens by providing quality, affordable, and sustainable housing solutions.

The programme comprises three implementation modalities: the provision of single detached housing solutions for individuals who own land or have legal permission to build; the relocation of vulnerable communities exposed to environmental or structural risks; and the upgrading of tenements, also referred to as multi-family housing solutions, to improve living conditions in densely populated areas.