Disabled community not happy with treatment from Welfare officers

SOME members of the disabled community have raised concern about the treatment meted out to them by some officers of the Welfare Department, when they have to interact with them to get financial assistance.

The issue came to the fore as the National Disabilities Unit (NDU) held a Community Outreach Workshop for persons with disabilities at the Valley Resource Centre in St. George on Thursday, as part of its activities to celebrate the Month of the Disabled during March.

As Kim Bob-Waithe of the Welfare Department delivered a presentation to inform persons gathered as to who exactly is entitled to a welfare grant, a number of disabled persons in the audience used the question and answer segment to share their experiences about bad treatment from Welfare officers, who at times seem to have little regard for their plight.

This prompted President of the Senate, Her Honour Senator Kerryann Ifill, who participated in the workshop, to comment on the issue.

She acknowledged as well the many complaints received about the treatment dished out by Welfare officers.

“Over the years, I have had several different persons who have interacted with the Welfare Department, persons with disabilities especially, who have complained about the awful and seemingly demeaning comments and statements that they deal with,” Senator Ifill remarked.

“Perhaps it isn’t what they say, it is how they communicate to persons. I have had persons tell me that Welfare officers looked at them and said, ‘You look strong enough to go and work. Wuh you don’t go and find wuk.’ There are even worse things I have heard,” she lamented.

“Now I know that sometimes people may exaggerate … but 300 Frenchmen can’t be wrong, and if so many people have had these kinds of comments, perhaps what we need to do is talk to our Welfare officers, to help them to understand when you are communicating to persons… (that) when you tell them to pick up bottles, you are telling them to go and be a paro. Technically that’s not what you said, but it’s how you said it and that’s what people get back from it.

So perhaps what we need to do, is to help them to understand how to communicate more effectively with their clients,” Ifill said. (RSM)