Transitional Facility For The Homeless Opens Friday
By: , May 26, 2022
Photo: R. Fraser
Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, makes his contribution to the 2022/23 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives, on May 25. Seated at right is State Minister in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Hon. Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn.The Full Story
Jamaica’s first ever adult transitional facility for homeless persons is slated to officially open on Friday (May 27) by Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness.
The state-of-the-art centre, located at King Street in downtown Kingston, will serve the homeless population across the Corporate Area.
It will not only function as a shelter, but also as a rehabilitative service point to aid in the holistic renewal of the lives of clients, who will benefit from protection and specialised care.
Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, said that the facility will be complemented by a temporary shelter that was established on Church Street while construction was taking place, which will continue to be used.
He was making his 2022/23 Sectoral Debate presentation in the House of Representatives on Wednesday (May 25), under the theme ‘Leading the Rural Transformation Drive as Jamaica emerges from COVID-19’.
Mr. McKenzie further advised that night shelters are under construction in St. Ann and Trelawny.
He said it is the intention of the Government “to provide every parish with a drop-in facility, a shelter where [persons living on the] streets can go [to] be taken care of.”
Meanwhile, Mr. McKenzie said the Ministry and its agencies heightened work, consequent on the COVID-19 pandemic, to safeguard the welfare of Jamaica’s vulnerable citizens, including the outdoor poor and residents of infirmaries.
“Last [financial] year, the Board of Supervision continued to ensure that the infirmaries delivered care in the strictest sanitary environment. To achieve optimum infection prevention and control… over 85 per cent of all residents were vaccinated,” he told the House.
The Minister advised that visits to infirmaries remain suspended due to the latest wave of increased COVID-19 infections.
“We were contemplating [resuming] visits to our infirmaries, but based on the outbreak we are now experiencing, we will put that on hold and be guided by the public health experts,” he said.