Cox seeks legal advice on street dwellers

MINISTER of Social Development Donna Cox said she is awaiting legal advice from the Office of the Attorney General on approaches to Trinidad and Tobago’s 441 street dwellers.

She was speaking to reporters at a brief function at her ministry on St Vincent Street, Port of Spain on Friday.

Minutes before she had hosted a high-level stakeholders' consultation on street dwelling at nearby Cabildo Chambers on St Vincent Street. Those attending included Commissioner of Police Gary Griffith, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh and Chief Medical Officer Dr Roshan Parasram.

Cox told reporters the legal aspect of street dwelling must be looked at.

“There are different views as to whether they should be moved voluntarily, involuntarily, if it’s wrong. There are human rights.”

She had hoped to have had AG Faris Al-Rawi at her stakeholders' meeting but he had been in the Senate late the night before. Reporters asked if she had met the AG.

“We had some discussions about it, so we will be looking at it on how to move forward. We intend to move forward regardless. Although we are waiting on that (legal advice) we are trying to deal with all the other areas.”

She said she had approached stakeholders such as the police plus the Ministry of Planning, which is leading the revitalisation of Port of Spain.

But Cox said, “The time for meetings is over. It’s time for action. It’s time for us to start to removing persons off the street and to look at how we can do that. We all have to pull up. It’s not just one ministry, one agency, it’s all of us.”

Cox wanted all stakeholders to commit to this.

“It is not about passing the buck.”

At the earlier meeting, she said, the high turnout showed a recognition that street dwelling was a government priority and needed an interdisciplinary, multi-sectoral approach.

Her ministry’s deputy permanent secretary Vijay Gangapersad, in his presentation, underlined the need for more facilities for street dwellers, including shelters, assessment centres, and transitional housing. He said the Riverside Plaza shelter in Port of Spain was not purpose-built, and many street dwellers said they felt safer elsewthere, owing to certain unstated activities taking place there.

Citing news reports of women attacked by street dwellers, including a 17-year-old girl fighting to save her eyesight, Gangapersad said, “Attacks from street dwellers are a real and serious danger.”

He said if nothing is done such attacks are likely to happen again.

Gangapersad lamented a lack of co-ordination in the efforts of different agencies to help street dwellers. He said someone could graduate from the Piparo Empowerment Centre – a drug treatment centre – but end up no better off. He noted that many street dwellers were both mentally ill and substance abusers.

He also said many people at Riverside Plaza are ready to move on with their lives, but have nowhere to go.

“We see more and more people who have nowhere to go after they have graduated from a mental health institution.

In the question session, Deyalsingh said, “This is not talk, but action.”