Elderly amputee seeks new home after losing place to live

An elderly amputee who lost his home after having his leg removed because of diabetes is appealing for help to find a disability-accessible place to live.

Rudolph Michael Haynes can often be found on Baxters Road near a popular supermarket, appealing to passersby for assistance.

When Barbados TODAY spoke to him on Wednesday, Haynes explained that he had been in this situation for the past few weeks, after leaving his most recent residence on Chapman Street.

Haynes said his right leg was amputated five to six months ago due to complications from diabetes. He previously lived in a rented space on Chapman Street but is now unable to pay rent. Before that, he lived in Mangrove, St Philip.

He said he is hoping to be relocated to a disability-accessible home in Bank Hall. “There’s a home up in Bank Hall, I think it’s $400 a month. I would like to be situated there as soon as possible,” he said.

Haynes said he spoke with three different people who had promised to help but had not heard back from them.

“He was talking about getting a room but I would have to pay the $500/$600 and I just can’t meet it, I can’t,” he explained. “I would rather the $400 for the room in Bank Hall. I wish to believe they got kitchen, with stove and everything. I would like that.”

He explained why that particular home was his preference: “I wouldn’t have to go upstairs.”

Haynes also described being promised assistance to get a new identification card, only to later be told he had to pay a fee. “He tell me I got to pay $60 to go through the system again and I can’t meet it, I can’t even get up there.”

He said he is also hoping to obtain crutches to improve his mobility. “Right now I want to get rid of this, I’d like a pair of crutches, you know, not that I don’t want the wheelchair, I can use the crutches for balance.”

Haynes highlighted some of his other immediate needs, including food vouchers, clothing and toiletries.

The diabetic amputee said he experiences mild discomfort and sickness at times that require medication, but he is unable to get to his clinic in Black Rock or the Winston Scott Polyclinic in Jemmotts Lane.

“My nerve like it lick up, I need medication. I don’t know how they can help me with some medication. I can’t buy it,” he explained. “I don’t get medication from the hospital. I situated at Brandford Taitt [Polyclinic] in Black Rock, is where I get all the medicine. But I can’t get down there.”

He stressed the urgency of refilling his prescription: “I’m due for medication either tomorrow or Friday or early next week.”

Haynes sometimes receives assistance from a nursing officer at the Winston Scott Polyclinic, but said he has not been able to contact him recently. “I need them, last set of medication somebody grab them and gone,” he said, highlighting his vulnerability on the streets.

He often finds a spot to sleep on King Street and said it is cold. “Right now I ain’t got no clothes at all. If I could just get to choose my clothes,” he explained, noting that nearby options do not meet his needs.

Kemar Saffrey, head of the Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness, told Barbados TODAY that he is familiar with Haynes’ case, but said their facilities are unable to accommodate him.

“Our shelter also does not have access for wheelchair persons because our building has been there before us, and we are trying to look for areas in which we can put elevators, and it’s not permitting us because it’s an older building,” Saffrey said.

He added that in the event of an emergency, the shelter would not be able to safely evacuate Haynes.

Saffrey suggested that the amputee is capable of assisting himself in finding suitable accommodation. “We’re not going to divulge the circumstances in which he can pay rent, but he’s in a fitting position to pay rent,” he said.

He described Haynes’s situation as a common one. “There is something called voluntary homelessness, and with someone who has the means to support themselves and not be on the street, then that is a matter of choice, and we are not going to come there and force anybody. I’ve gotten several calls.”

Saffrey said he hopes that government social services will be able to assist those who are disabled, homeless or facing other challenges that his organisation cannot fully address.