Shelter numbers expected to swell – BAEH

There’s a rise in homelessness, with more women and children on the streets, said the Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness (BAEH) on Wednesday as it announced plans to house more people at its Spry Street shelter this Christmas than initially expected.

Head of the alliance, Kemar Saffrey, said there have been over 90 new cases between January and November. He said he was concerned about this development and noted that the BAEH was in the process of preparing a final year report to be presented to the Government and the media to show the increase in homelessness and also outlining which areas the homeless are coming from and the reasons for their situations.

Saffrey said: “One of the things that we have also seen an increase in is the amount of homeless women. While that could be rather challenging for us, it should be a concern for many because whenever women become homeless there is an increased number of children that become affected by this homelessness as well. In essence, we have had a serious increase in homelessness this year, we have had spikes in areas of need including food and shelter which are the two main areas.

“A lot of people outside are seeking assistance from us here as well. We are trying our best to provide assistance. Our bed numbers are increasing, the need for shelter is increasing, so we are providing as much around the clock service as possible,” he said.

Saffrey explained that though there has been a noticeable increase in persons coming to the shelter for assistance, the alliance has been working overtime in conjunction with social agencies, including the Welfare Department, and the Household Mitigation Unit to assist persons in regaining their independence as quickly as possible. Saffrey said the longer people spend at the shelter means that it would put pressure on the alliance’s finances.

He added: “We are concerned that we are having babies that are in the shelter and pregnant people going to the hospital and coming back to the shelter and then they have to come back with that baby when they already have a child, some of them even going to school from here. So we are facing a lot more challenges than we bargained for that we are seeing and we are just trying to work with the Government and help these persons as much as possible.”

Saffrey said that the alliance has also had to increase the number of meals it provides daily to meet the needs of the increased number of clients.

The BAEH president also insisted that there are other feeding groups playing a major role in helping disadvantaged people.

Saffrey said: “On the days that people can’t feed because of lack of finances we would pick up the slack. But there are still a lot of people showing interest and there are still a lot of groups and organisations that are feeding the homeless so they are not left without food.

“But anybody that comes to the organization we try to assist them where possible.”

(anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb)