New Adopt-a-Family programme coming on stream

Ten at-risk families will soon benefit from a 12-month support programme that officials said is timely given the increase in requests for assistance and a rise in cases in neglect.

Vice President of the Optimist Club of Barbados Central, Ann Wallace-Elcock, outlining the club’s new Adopt-a-Family programme during a media briefing on Thursday, said it was needed at this time, given the ongoing financial difficulties many families are facing because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“At this time, we felt that as members of our community, it would be remiss of us to ignore the needs and the significant increase in the vulnerabilities that have occurred in our communities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said.

“Therefore, the Adopt-a-Family programme was designed to enable to help us help ten families in Barbados. We did that by asking for pledges from the corporate community to assist us with the financial side of this programme.”

Wallace-Elcock explained that the families would also be getting other types of assistance.

“While the programme is designed to provide a monthly stipend to these ten families, we felt that simply providing them with the stipend was not enough. Therefore, working closely with the Child Care Board, we have designed the programme not simply as a handout to families on a monthly basis, but to work with them over the 12 months which the programme will cover, to help them build their confidence, to give them access to resources, and to help them to remove or improve the vulnerabilities that they are currently facing,” she said.

The additional forms of support include workshops on financial and stress management.

Coordinator of the Child Abuse Programme at the state-owned Child Care Board (CCB) Roxanne Sanderson-Weekes thanked the Optimists for their assistance, as she pointed out that stressful situations within the home often give rise to incidents of abuse.

Citing the need for more support mechanisms for at-risk families, she said: “This project is very timely, especially during what we have just come through and are still going through this pandemic season.

“The referrals to the board saw an increase in neglect cases and really and truly that is where all abuse stems. The pandemic saw an increase in the needs of the vulnerable and therefore we had to look to see how we can help. Let’s face it, when persons’ basic needs such as food, clothing, education, medical treatment… are not met, then you will have a crippling effect.”

Paul Inniss, Executive VP and General Manager of Sagicor Life Inc., one of the core sponsors of the initiative, said the company found it fitting to partner with the Optimist Club given the unprecedented challenges facing Barbadians during the pandemic.

“What the last two years have shown us is the level of struggle that many Barbadians and their families go through on a daily basis. Prior to the onset of the global pandemic, we knew that many households fought each day to provide for themselves. However, since the pandemic and the resulting impact on our economy, we have seen the significant level of vulnerability that exists across Barbados, relative to families and their ability to provide basic necessities, consistently,” he said.

“When we listened to the stories and needs of the families currently benefitting from the programme, it became clear that we needed to assist.”

Inniss urged other companies as well as individuals to step up and assist as well.

“We understand that challenges and difficulties exist for both businesses and individuals alike, but I’d like to implore corporate Barbados and each and every Barbadian to seek out more information about the programme and its beneficiaries, with a view to exploring how they can assist in improving the lives of the vulnerable among us,” he said. “No amount is too small and every contribution counts.”
(SB)