Ministry wants private-sector help to run homeless centres

File photo:  Riverside Plaza Car Park, Port of Spain, where the homeless are sheltered. Photo by Sureash Cholai
File photo: Riverside Plaza Car Park, Port of Spain, where the homeless are sheltered. Photo by Sureash Cholai

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services Jacintha Bailey-Sobers is calling on the private sector to help manage centres for the homeless as the government addresses the issue of street dwellers.

Bailey-Sobers made the call at a meeting between the ministry and the business community on street dwellers at the Dr Linda Baboolal Room, Cabildo Chambers, St Vincent Street, Port of Spain on Monday.

She said one of the challenges the authorities have faced when housing the homeless is getting them to move on from the centres, leading to a number of people spending longer periods there.

She said while the ministry offered rental assistance for those in need, it has had difficulties in getting some tenants to move on. She pointed out that facilities like the Centre for Socially Displaced Persons (CSDP) in Port of Spain were only temporary measures and felt that tighter management was needed at these centres.

"We are looking at an arrangement for our transitional housing and other such services for the management of those facilities.

"We would have had some challenges in the past when we do provide accommodation for target groups such as this. It's difficult to get them out of the facilities after the period that they were supposed to be there for, whether it's nine months or a year.

"We need to have tight management, robust management of these facilities, and we feel this is where the private sector can assist us. Which resulted in some of these facilities being "lost" to other ministries.

She said she hoped the private sector could help with technical advice for managing these centres.

The ministry revealed that as of Monday there were 130 homeless people staying at Riverside Plaza in east Port of Spain.

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"Ministry wants private-sector help to run homeless centres"

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