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President of the Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness (BAEH), Kemar Saffrey.

Some Barbadians being forced out into the ash

Barbados may be covered in volcanic ash, but this dire environmental situation and health hazard has not stopped some homeowners and landlords from putting persons out on the streets.

President of the Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness (BAEH), Kemar Saffrey, says to date he has had approximately five to six cases which he has been presented with, and women and children are the ones mostly affected.

This has all taken place given the recent eruption of the La Soufrière volcano in St. Vincent, and the BAEH’s efforts to provide 24-hour accommodation to homeless persons to get them off the streets and out of the dry, dusty and ashy conditions.

“Some persons left the shelter once the all-clear was given for persons to leave after the recent 24-hour operation, but at any given time we were close to 40 and we also had some women and children. We found that that was another problem for us, with women and children coming,” he said, as he spoke of the number of people generally that were housed in the shelter.

Saffrey added, “So we had women and children staying here. What we found troubling too was, this time, we dealt with a lot of cases as it relates to a lot of people that were put out. We had five to six cases of persons that were put out and that included children as well. I don’t really condone this, but we saw that at this time as well.”

Meanwhile, Saffrey noted that his organisation is doing its best to still abide by the COVID-19 protocols, and those who wish to enter the Homeless Shelter have to receive a rapid antigen test for the virus. The traditional PCR COVID-19 test may take 24 hours or more, and to get persons off the streets, negative results from the rapid test are accepted.

Saffrey pointed out that there is adequate room in the shelter to allow for social distancing, but leaving nothing to chance, new persons are isolated so as to ensure that there is a reduced chance of them mixing with those who are already there.

“We have enough room. So we are ensuring that persons are six feet apart and we are making sure that they wear their masks, sanitise, etc.,” Saffrey said of the BAEH’s efforts to keep the shelter COVID-free, whilst still fulfilling its mandate.

(RSM)

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