Houses for the Homeless in St. Thomas

The St. Thomas Parish Council is to build three houses for three families at a cost of just over $400,000 this Labour Day (May 23).

They will be constructed in the communities of Spring Garden and Botany Bay, and will benefit persons who are homeless, including a mother of four, who had to give up two of her children to the State, because of her inability to provide a home for them.

Speaking with JIS News, Co-ordinator of the Parish Council’s Labour Day Project Committee, Custos Marcia Bennett, pointed out that this project was chosen in light of this year’s theme for Labour Day and Workers Week: ‘Lend a hand….Build our Land’.

“This year the focus of our project is on helping the indigent and vulnerable. We are really pleased that we can build three units to take persons off the street,” she said.

The beneficiaries were recommended by the Social Development Commission (SDC) and the Poor Relief Department.

“One person is a fire victim who lost his home and was living in a bus shed, while another is a mother of four, who had two of her children taken by the State as she was unable to provide proper housing for them. The third person lost her home during Hurricane Sandy last October,” she noted.

The Labour Day Project Committee received $160,000 from the Ministry of Youth and Culture toward the construction of the houses. However, in an effort to ensure the success of the project, the team decided to “lend a hand” by personally contributing the balance required to build the houses.

Custos Bennett said the team is mindful of the tight fiscal space within which the Government is operating and were strategic in selecting their project.

The Custos said members of the community will also be lending a hand with the construction of the houses on Labour Day.

Contact: Sanasha Pearson