BAEH on standby to take in homeless if necessary

The Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness (BAEH) is on standby and awaiting word from the Department of Emergency Management (DEM) as to whether it will have to activate its 24-hour shelter protocols as a result of the approaching Tropical Storm Bret.

While the island was still under a tropical storm watch on Wednesday night, President of the Alliance Kemar Saffrey told Barbados TODAY the Spry Street shelter was in a state of readiness in case the weather situation worsened as the system got closer.

“We are fully equipped and ready to go,” he said.

Noting that the shelter’s staff had also been placed on standby, Saffrey said that wardens were already on site from earlier in the evening helping with last-minute preparations.

“If anything changes, then we can take in clients early,” he said.

The shelter, which usually allows clients to stay between the hours of 6 p.m. and 8 a.m., seven days a week, activates a 24-hour protocol during bad weather.

“We only activate our services based on the advice from the Met Office or the DEM…. We have protocols in place so that if anything happens between now and the passing, clients can stay in and do not have to leave the shelter during that time,” he explained.

Saffrey said the BAEH also has an on-the-road team which would be dispatched quickly based on any instruction from the authorities.

The alliance’s shelter can cater for up to 90 individuals and is open for men, women and children who have fallen on difficult times.

(JB)