THA hints at changes to grants system

THA Secretary of Settlements, Public Utilities and Rural Development Ian Pollard has hinted at changes in the division’s grants policy.

The division is responsibility for disbursing grants such as the Home Improvement Grant, Home Improvement Subsidy, the Home Completion Programme and the Beneficiary Owned Land Programme.

Speaking at a grant distribution ceremony on October 14 at the Shaw Park Complex, Pollard said while the changes were yet to be approved by the Executive Council, they are coming.

These grants, he said, are to be used "to uplift your life, improve your home.

"We have some persons who try to access these grants who just need to just change a window; some people want to just put on a washroom. "When you go into some person's home, you can see where their kids can fall through the flooring...we have pictures with five pigtail buckets in people’s roof.

"It is deplorable, it is bad out there. It is high time that these grants meet those persons who really, really deserve it.”

He said it is understood there is a lot of pressure, especially for single mothers, saying last week he got a call from one who, because of the stress of having nowhere to live, had called a suicide hotline twice.

“We, as the division, have taken the decision, along with the Executive Council – it was my intention that grants be given in one tranche, because it doesn’t make sense that you give some persons $10,000, they bring back the bills, then they get another $10,000 – some persons cannot wait that long.

"It was also part of the discussion that we give materials only because it is high time that persons put sweat equity into improving their homes.

"The high cost for material we face these days – $10,000 or $15,000 – cannot do some of the things needed to do on some of the homes. So it is something that the executive has to sign off on, as to if we’re going to give one cheque.”

He said hardware stores would have to buy in, that is, "make sure that the materials are available, and if we can get it at a reduced price, because we know the cost is astronomically high compared to Trinidad. So it’s a work in progress.

"In this fiscal (year), we’re hoping that we can get it off the ground as soon as possible.”

He said due diligence must also be followed in the process, as the division had been told of a recipient who last week tried to buy a vehicle with his grant.

“You can’t put all the stop measures in place– somebody would slip through the cracks. But these are some of the things that we’re facing, other persons using the money for what it was not catered for.”

Assistant Secretary Orlando Kerr said coming from the education fraternity, he always thought education was fast-paced. Now, having been reassigned to housing, he recognises that this is a division "of heart."

“You encounter so many issues on a daily basis with persons on a daily basis that you want to help – you want to help everybody, and sometimes the help is not coming fast enough. We really would like to be able to assist everyone. Unfortunately, we do not have the resources to do so. So we are going to try to meet as many persons as we can and hopefully we can meet the persons who are really in need.”

The division’s administrator, Genelle Williams, described the distribution as not just an event, but the beginning of new opportunities and brighter futures for the recipients and their families.

“At our division, we view housing as a human right. We recognise that many persons applying for our grants and for housing do so because of the spiralling cost of materials and labour, and that our assistance closes the gap for many which would otherwise be a bridgeless chasm.”

The distribution, Williams said, is testament to the division’s commitment to empowering those who need it most and ensuring that everyone, regardless of their circumstances, has a fair chance to thrive.

One grant recipient, Brandon Hercules, said he was extremely grateful for the support. After heavy landslides and rainfall in 2022, nearly half of Hercules’ property was significantly damaged. Given the severity of the situation and the extent of the repairs needed, he received a grant of $50,000 in a single instalment to address these repairs urgently.

In the last fiscal year, including the ceremony on October 15, the division distributed $5,865,000 in grants.