Tears of Joy for Greenwich Town Homeowner
By: , April 11, 2022
Photo: R. Fraser
Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (second right) joins Greenwich Town resident, Avis Morrison (centre) in cutting the ribbon to symbolise the official handing over of her new three-bedroom home, provided under the New Social Housing Programme (NSHP), on Friday (April 8). Joining in the celebration are Member of Parliament, St. Andrew South Western, Dr. Angela Brown Burke (left) and Project Director, Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment (HOPE) Programme, Farrah Blake.
Photo: R. Fraser
Greenwich Town resident, Avis Morrison (left), enters her newly built three-bedroom house, at the official handing over of the unit on Friday (April 8). She is joined by Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, and Member of Parliament, St. Andrew South Western, Dr. Angela Brown Burke. The housing unit was provided under the New Social Housing Programme (NSHP).
Photo: R. Fraser
Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (left), speaks with Greenwich Town resident, Avis Morrison, during a ceremony to hand over a new three-bedroom unit to Ms. Morrison on Friday (April 8), which was built under the New Social Housing Programme (NSHP).The Full Story
Avis Morrison of Second Street in Greenwich Town, St. Andrew was overcome with tears of joy as she received the keys to her new home from Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness on Friday (April 8).
She is the latest beneficiary of improved housing under Government’s New Social Housing Programme (NSHP).
The new three-bedroom unit, which Ms. Morrison will share with her sister, was built at a cost of approximately $5.6 million.
No longer will she have to endure the uncomfortable conditions that she lived in for over 30 years, including a leaking roof.
“Before, [the house] was deplorable. I tried my best, but when it rains, I would have to even use a ladder to go on the [roof] and place a tarpaulin to prevent me from getting wet,” Ms. Morrison said.
The proud homeowner said she is “grateful to have a home to call my own. I am elated.”
Prime Minister Holness, in his address, congratulated Ms. Morrison and urged her to a good example of citizenship in her community.
He said he has tasked the team at the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, under which the NSHP falls, to deliver 1,000 units per year for people living in conditions like Ms. Morrison.
The Prime Minister noted that the idea behind the NSHP is to provide hope of access to quality housing for Jamaicans living in less-than-ideal situations.
He said that while the Government pursues a programme to improve housing there must also be an “improvement of the heart” to promote peace and harmony in communities.
“So, along with the urban and social renewal, must be a programme of social transformation. In fact, I like to call it a cultural revolution in Jamaica, because a large part of our crime problem is entrenched in our culture,” he contended.
Meanwhile, Member of Parliament for St. Andrew South-Western, Dr. Angela Brown Burke, who assisted Ms. Morrison in applying for the housing unit, said she welcomes the NSHP “because the options given were meaningful and I am heartened.”