By Robert A. Emmanuel
While a centre for homeless individuals may be still on the cards, more deliberations will have to take place as Minister of State with responsibility for Social Transformation, Senator Samantha Marshall explained.
In February, the government reported that it was looking at a building on Kentish Road as a potential location to house residents who are homeless.
The senator, however, said that the government “had to review their processes” and enquire into various other options as they continue to pursue their holistic policies.
“The reality is that we are looking at location, it is not just an issue of whether the arrangement has fallen through, we have been looking at a number of things — location, suitability for the services we would wish to offer in support.
“At the time, it was ideal, but we are looking at the numbers which has grown … now compared to what we [had to] deal with then and so those are the considerations that we are taking into effect when we are looking at the suitability of location,” Senator Marshall expressed.
In February, the Senator said that some of those services could potentially include the provision of meals and health care services, as well as a job programme, to aid in reintegrating vagrants and the homeless into society.
She also spoke during that interview in February about offering mental health services for homeless individuals and vagrants.
While the country does not face the scale of homelessness that other larger economies face, homelessness and vagrancy still is a multi-dimensional issue.
“Mental health issues, matters relating to abuse of substance and a feeling of abandonment for one reason or another, which means that mental health is a very big one in the Ministry of Social Transformation because if one is not in that state of mind to take care of themselves … then it is an issue,” she said.
Senator Marshall said that working under the Minister of Health, Wellness, Social Transformation and the Environment as a Minister of State has brought greater collaboration between the two ministries.
“I find that a lot of young people within society have a greater understanding of mental health and I think we need to continue the education and sensitization; mental health is not just affecting our vagrants, but it is something with our young people,” she said.