Bdos: Confronting homelessness

Just a few dozen people are housed at the available shelters around the island, and plans are afoot to build a shelter which will accommodate more than 200 destitute Barbadians crying out for roofs over their heads.

“Our programme goes beyond those who live on the streets. There are many people who depend on the goodwill of friends for a time before being asked to move on. If alternative accommodation is not found, these people will be forced to live on the street,” Lashley said.

Blackman said the available shelters at Lancaster House and the Shelter for Battered Women are at full capacity, which is insufficient to cope with the demand. She also mentioned that the Clyde Gollop Night Shelter was a night facility and only catered to men.

Permanent Secretary Freddie Forde said homelessness could not be seen as a problem for Government alone.

He added that his ministry was about empowering people and was not a hand-out one.

“This is a ministry that encourages people to build themselves and assist one another,” he said.