Two hundred at-risk youth from communities across the parish of Clarendon are to benefit through a new crime-prevention initiative – the Clarendon Collaborative Action Project. The initiative is a new approach to crime prevention that utilises several integrated social strategies to address deviant and antisocial behaviours among youth and empower them to become productive members of society. The project will...

The Social Development Commission is advising that its Corporate Office, Kingston and St. Andrew, Portmore and St Thomas Offices will be closed to the public Tuesday August 25, 2020 and Wednesday August 26, 2020. The temporary closure is to facilitate deep cleaning and sanitization of the offices given the exposure of staff to an individual who has tested positive for...

Five schools in rural Jamaica have benefited from a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) ‘Training of Trainers’ Workshop, organised by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF). Participants included 20 principals, guidance counsellors, teachers and ancillary staff from the Boston Primary School in Portland; Grange Hill Primary School, Westmoreland; Jacks River Primary School, St. Mary; Mount Moriah Primary School, St. Ann,...

Prime Minister the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, officially handed over several infrastructure projects in the Barrett Town community in St. James on Friday (August 7), which were completed under the European Union (EU) funded Poverty Reduction Programme (PRP) and the World Bank funded Integrated Community Development Project (ICDP). The projects, which primarily seek to promote public safety and crime reduction,...

The Social Development Commission (SDC) has announced that its National Community Cricket Competition will be staged as planned. “We are going to do the National Community Cricket Competition starting August 23 to December 13, with strict protocols and the blessing of the Ministry of Health (and Wellness) and the Government at large. There are 207 teams registered and we are...

Social Development Commission (SDC) Executive Director, Dr. Dwayne Vernon, says a 79 per cent increase in the agency’s operating budget over the last four years has enabled the entity to strengthen engagement with communities across the island. “We are looking at $730 million in 2016 to now $1.2 billion in 2020/2021. We are now seeing a 79 per cent increase...

State Minister in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Floyd Green, says the Government is committed to driving the growth of social enterprises and enabling entrepreneurs to formalise their operations. Addressing a Social Return on Investment (SROI) virtual round table recently, Mr. Green noted that social enterprises have long been a feature in Jamaica, with many entrepreneurs...