‘Ongoing success’ with job placements for homeless

The Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness (BAEH) said Friday it is seeing strong results from its job placement efforts, with more clients landing steady work, even as the charity monitors the risks posed by new narcotics on the island.

While CARIFESTA XV did not bring notable job opportunities for clients, the programme remains strong and consistent, BAEH president Kemar Saffrey told Barbados TODAY.

“As it relates to work for our clients, we still get quite a few offers for persons to work. That has not slowed down at all,” he said. “But at the end of the day, we still need to make sure that our clients are ready for the world of work. It’s not just because somebody calls us, we’re going to send them. We still got quite a few requests for our clients to work.”

Saffrey explained that job placement is now a routine part of the organisation’s work, provided that clients have gone through rehabilitation or development programmes.

“It’s an everyday occurrence for us. Once a client shows the interest in working, they are of sound mind, mentally stable, and not on drugs, they get jobs,” he said. “In terms of placement in housing and placement in jobs, that’s an everyday thing for us.”

But with the National Council on Substance Abuse (NCSA) recently warning about the rise of new and potentially dangerous drugs, BAEH is also keeping a close eye on how substance use could affect employment prospects.

“Our clients are always using things, whether they’re on the market or not,” Saffrey acknowledged. “We are always fearful of the fact that our clients will try anything to get a high. Sometimes when something isn’t working anymore, once they hear about a new product, they go and try it. More so, they may even be the first to try it before a lot of other people.”

He said some BAEH clients have already experimented with emerging substances: “We do know our clients have used some of the new things that are out there.”

Despite this challenge, Saffrey stressed that the charity remains committed to supporting clients through rehabilitation, preparing them for meaningful employment, and ensuring they have the tools to remain stable and independent once placed in jobs and housing. (SB)