By:
Regina Selman-Moore
The Barbados Vagrants and Homeless Society (BVHS) is reporting a quick turnover rate for persons entering its recently launched Women and Children’s Shelter.
President of the Barbados Vagrants and Homeless Society, Kemar Saffrey told the Barbados Advocate this week that as word got out about its official launch, the BVHS has been getting a number of requests from women, who have been threatened with eviction at their places of residence. He however noted that the BVHS has been able to get some assistance for a number of women and children residing at the shelter, so that they often pass through rather than remain, allowing for a quick turnover and freeing up space for others who may be in need.
“The women have been responding pretty well to the Women’s Shelter. We have been getting a lot of calls and requests, so that has been tremendous. Some women are coming with a lot of requests for assistance with three and four children and sometimes that poses a challenge, since we don’t have that capacity. And most of these are women that are likely going to be homeless soon, but we try to work with them to get them back on their feet or we try to talk with the landlord before eviction. So that is going pretty good,” Saffrey pointed out.
“We have a few women in (our) programme, women and children and it has been going good. Some of them have gotten a job and moved on, so we have really seen some quick and progressive turnover rates so far,” Saffrey also indicated.
The Barbados Vagrants and Homeless Society recently moved to establish a Women and Children’s Shelter, given the number of women, accompanied by their children, who seek out its services.
Having seen some cases where women have been sleeping on the streets whilst pregnant or with their children in tow and acknowledging that this is even more worrisome than having men on the streets, the BVHS established the shelter with the assistance of Courts, Barbados, which provided the necessary furnishings.
The main reasons women give for needing assistance, is that they have lost their jobs, are unable to pay rent or they are entwined in family disputes, which all lead to them being put out on the streets. (RSM)
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