Charity reports increase in jobs for homeless

The Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness (BAEH) is reporting an increase in the number of job placements it has been able to provide for homeless people.

President Kemar Saffrey said the charity has also successfully helped numerous clients return to mainstream society.

He celebrated these and other BAEH achievements in a message to celebrate World Homelessness Day on Thursday.

Saffrey said that over the years, the organisation’s techniques have resulted in “tremendous outcomes for those that have faced homelessness”. Since its inception, he said, the BAEH has seen well over 1 200 clients affected by homelessness and has had a 76 per cent success rate in rehabilitating its homeless clients back into mainstream society.

“I can say clearly that the tireless work of staff and counsellors, coupled with the cooperation from the clients, has led to the turnaround and the success we’ve seen in terms of clients transitioning back into mainstream society,” he said.

“We’re really pleased with the outcome of our clients as it relates to our rehabilitation and reintegration programmes. Based on the number of services that we offer at the organisation – whether it be counselling and mental health assistance, nursing aid, welfare assistance, housing solutions and job collaborations with the social network services – with the aid of our transition team, we’ve been able to see persons get themselves back into mainstream society and be able to get housing and jobs.

“In terms of the number of job placements this year, they have been tremendous. Corporate Barbados has come on board to make sure that the homeless, once treated and rehabilitated, are able to place themselves back into mainstream society,” Saffrey added. He did not give exact job numbers for this year.

The BAEH president added that there were several employers still seeking out clients for job opportunities, given the success of the alliance’s job placement programme.

He also spoke about the organisation’s work with the government on the formation of the National Task Force on Homelessness, a Cabinet-approved committee that is looking at policies and collaborative strategies to tackle homelessness.

He also acknowledged the government’s efforts in providing the BAEH with a subvention to open the firstever 24-hour shelter to assist the homeless.

Saffrey said there was still a lot of work to be done, as homelessness continues to be an issue due to factors such as family disputes, the use and abuse of drugs and mental health challenges. He maintained that for the work of the BAEH to remain successful, a collaborative effort must continue. (PR/BT)