Call for rent relief programme

A call has been made for Government to assist Barbadians who are genuinely in need via a rent relief programme, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to present a number of challenges.

So says Kemar Saffrey, a well-known advocate, in his capacity as Founder and President of the Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness.

Saffrey says such a programme can aid landlords who have been crying out for some time now since the pandemic hit the country, given that many renters have had reduced incomes or have lost their jobs.

By extension, Saffrey says that an initiative can be put in place to assist those in dire straits who are behind on utility payments.

Stressing that it would be for those who are genuinely having challenges, he noted that the time has come as well for vulnerable persons to be educated about how they utilise the financial aid they receive, since some persons are not good at financial management.

“When the country first went into a lockdown, the Government rushed and gave $600 to people that were in dire need. Yes, we can understand that. However, this is two or three times now that the Government is going to approve another $10 million, but without review. The landlords are crying out. I run a homeless organisation and I am feeling the increase in terms of the amount of people that are becoming homeless. So we are saying, put one million dollars or whatever you want to put aside for rent relief,” he said in an interview with The Barbados Advocate yesterday.

Saffrey, noted that he has been sharing a number of potential initiatives which can be considered to render some assistance during these changing times.

“People generally don’t know how to spend money. I was sharing an analogy recently, where there was a girl who got $600 and she told me she is going down to town to buy a tablet. Now that girl has children, but her focus was on getting a tablet for herself. So people don’t always know how to manage a budget. We are all guilty of it to some extent, but this is the time where people need to spend wisely.

“I am right here by Popular Discounts and I have seen people go into the supermarket and come back out with a bag of snacks. Some are waiting in line for hours and when you think that they are waiting for something substantial, they are waiting to buy snacks or cigarettes. Some people are waiting to buy rum. So to help mitigate the problems some persons have, which is the (bad) spending of money, put a rent relief programme in place to help to pay up to one million in rent, up to a period of time. And what you can do is tell landlords to register with the system if you want the money and those who are having challenges, who don’t have a job, you can have a rigorous approach to the process so that you can help them,” Saffrey said.

“The other thing you can look at is people who have utilities. So you can take out some of the same money that has been approved, but you are saying now, if you can come to me and you can [give a good account for it] then I will give you the $600, but if you have rent or utilities, a portion will go to this in maybe two or three vouchers. So you are approaching it in a more systematic way,” Saffrey said of the government’s efforts to financially aid those in need during the ongoing pandemic. (RSM)