Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness marks 16 years of service and support

The Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness (BAEH) is marking its 16th anniversary with a record of outcomes that the organisation says proves homelessness in Barbados can be reversed with consistent intervention, structure and partnership.

In a press release issued on Monday, BAEH said it is “celebrating its 16th anniversary, marking more than a decade and a half of dedicated service in addressing the issue of homelessness in Barbados and across the wider Caribbean.”

Founded on October 19, 2009, the organisation reports that more than 2 000 individuals have passed through its system of shelter, rehabilitation, and reintegration support. Central to that effort is its “At the Crossroad” Rehabilitation and Reintegration Programme, which, according to BAEH, has achieved an 87 per cent reintegration success rate.

BAEH added that through long-standing partnerships with private sector employers, it maintains “a 100 per cent employment placement rate for shelter residents rehabilitated and seeking work.” For an area of social policy often dismissed as intractable, that performance places the group among the region’s most effective non-state intervention models in the homelessness space.

The statement further noted that BAEH remains “the first entity in Barbados to provide housing solutions for women and children outside of domestic violence cases,” and currently runs the island’s only full homeless shelter with a capacity of 120 persons, including women and children.

Beyond housing and rehabilitation efforts, BAEH has also assumed an operational role during national emergencies. “The organisation has played a central role during periods of national crisis — from the COVID-19 pandemic to hurricane events and emergency eviction responses — ensuring no vulnerable individual is left unsupported,” it stated.

BAEH also highlighted its policy-level leadership, noting that it “led the creation of the Caribbean’s first National Task Force on Homelessness and is now in the process of facilitating the development of a Regional Homeless Network and Alliance.” That work, it said, is geared toward standardising regional practice, enabling data-driven coordination, and elevating homelessness from a charity-framed issue to an agenda item of public policy.

While thanking the invaluable support partners such as the Government of Barbados, The Barbados Police Service, The Maria Holder Memorial Trust, and many other local and regional partners and donors who have enabled its continued work and expansion, the statement added, “As we celebrate 16 years, we reaffirm our commitment to end homelessness through partnership, compassion, and action. We thank all who have walked this journey with us and invite continued collaboration as we strengthen this work at home and across the region.” (SB)