Social Services Fairs In St. James

Vulnerable communities in St. James will benefit from a suite of social services at two fairs slated for the St. James High School and the Albion Playfield on Saturday (March 26) and Wednesday (March 30), respectively.

The Ministry of National Security is partnering with the Education and Youth Ministry to stage the events, which are designed to bring government services directly to the communities that are in need of support.

Chief Technical Director in the Ministry of National Security, Shauna Trowers, told JIS News that the social services fairs are being used to reach some of its key constituents – parents and students.

“When we looked at citizen security, we recognised that it can be misconstrued where persons only think of the security forces. But we wanted to look at security in terms of our citizens. We’re looking at security of the child, family, community, and even in terms of health. We recognise that security is what we call a multidimensional part of the investment in our citizens.” Ms. Trowers noted.

Saturday’s fair at St. James High School will run from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and the March 30 event at the Albion Playfield will start at noon and end at 4:00 p.m.

A range of services will be provided, which were determined after an assessment of select communities.

“We will have the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, which will give information about applying for the Programme for Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH), the benefits of the programme and how to access it. The Passport Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) will be providing, at a subsidised rate, passports for a select number of parents and students,” Ms. Trowers told JIS News.

National Parenting Support Commission (NPSC) will also be on hand to provide parents with guidance on how to deal with the children impacted by the pandemic.

“The big-ticket item is parenting. We recognise that parenting requires a source of support, so the NPSC will be providing the necessary information, so that persons can access the support through that agency,” she noted.

“We will also be providing [access] to important documents like Tax Registration Number (TRN), the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) will explain the importance of having a voter identification (ID) card and will also be processing applications,” Ms. Trowers told JIS News.

Information will also be provided about training and employment through the Heart/ NSTA Trust.

“We will have legal aid, a lot of health screenings, so persons can come and get screened for diabetes, cancer and get their blood pressure checked,” Ms. Trowers added.

The St. James fairs are part of a series being held across the country from the end of March into June.