Applications for welfare assistance increase due to COVID-19

The Welfare Department is working diligently to process applications for back-to-school assistance, in an effort to assist parents seeking to prepare their children for the September 21 start of the academic year.

The assurance came today from Chief Welfare Officer Deborah Norville, as she revealed that the department was dealing with a higher number of applicants than usual, largely due to people being laid off as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic has also resulted in a number of changes at the department, in terms of how applications are being processed. Norville explained that for the time being, face-to-face in-office interviews between welfare officers and clients have been suspended because the cramped work spaces at welfare offices did not allow for physical distancing. Instead, telephone interviews are now being conducted.

As a result, persons requesting assistance are required to visit the welfare office in the parish in which they reside or the department’s headquarters at the Weymouth Corporate Centre, Roebuck Street, and complete the application forms which are available there. Norville said it is particularly important that applicants provide a contact number so they can be reached for telephone interviews.

She assured parents and guardians that everyone who has applied for assistance will be contacted by a welfare officer.

“The Welfare Department remains committed to serving the most vulnerable in our society, and we thank members of the public for their patience as we seek to process the exponential increase in applications for various services during this most difficult period,” the Chief Welfare Officer said. (BGIS)