Disabled included in hundreds to get cost of living support

Some 200 disabled families have been added to 1 000 vulnerable households that will receive support through a Government-led initiative to cope with the rising cost of living.

Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Kirk Humphrey made the disclosure on Friday as revealed that it will cost some $30 million annually to run what he said will be a comprehensive programme of assistance.

Speaking on the Down to Brass Tacks call-in programme today, Humphrey said Government will not only be relying on Barbadians at home to reach out to the less fortunate in their communities but will be targeting nationals overseas and other agencies to lend a helping hand.

“We are going to be making further calls to the wider diaspora, we are going to be making calls to the international agencies.

“To start this programme, we are using some funds that we received – that is called budget support – from international agencies that have given us about $8 million that allows us to do this programme. A lot of that we are budgeting for. We believe that Barbadians will come forward and help other Barbadians and help us cut the costs,” he said.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced the initiative which she said would match Barbadians with families in need of assistance.

Since then, the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the National Union of Public Workers have thrown their full support behind the plan.

Humphrey assured that persons who need genuine assistance would benefit and the selection process was above board and transparent.

“We went through the various social services and got the names, some of the families who have been before welfare for three generations. We got names from community groups, we are going to be reaching out to churches to get more names,” he said.

Minister Humphrey added that the programme would not merely provide money but would be geared toward improving the overall conditions of vulnerable families.

This, he said, would include assistance with housing and job opportunities.

“So this is a holistic approach, it is not a case where a thousand families are going to just get money and we are not working with the family. It is a complete, holistic programme,” Humphrey stressed.

“And and on top of that, we then added 200 families with disabilities, so it will be 1 000 of the most vulnerable plus 200 families with disabilities, because persons with disabilities are often left out of this conversation.”
(SD)