STEADY GOING
The plans of the Barbados Vagrants and Homeless Society (BVHS) to raise funds to purchase a permanent home for that organisation have been going steady.
President of BVHS, Kemar Saffrey, told The Barbados Advocate yesterday that his organisation is hopeful it will be able to buy the building by the middle of the year.
“We are steady ahead in terms of working with a number of persons trying to get this building for the homeless.”
He added, “We are still seeking contributions from the general public and any businesses that want to give financially they can go to the Republic Bank and ask for the account and they can give to that; but we definitely looking by the mid of this year. We are looking to definitely purchase that building and to have that building for the homeless.”
Last year, the Society launched its “Building a Future for the Homeless Campaign”. Through this “dollar drive” initiative, the organisation aims to raise $1.7 million dollar to buy a building in The City that they have earmarked.
Speaking about the Society’s efforts thus far, Saffrey said the organisation has been “doing a lot of campaigning” and they are hopeful to “see the fruits of our campaigning and our pushing for that building later down in the year”.
The BVHS’ President was speaking on the side-lines of the Productivity Council’s Schools’ Programme, held at the Baobab Tower. During his remarks, he spoke to students about his early school life and his path to starting the BVHS, as well as about the organisation’s success.
Included in what he said was that through its At The Crossroads Programme, the Society has “placed over 60 guys back into mainstream society” and has had “success helping at least over 130 persons get back into mainstream society in an entirety of the organisation”.
He pointed out that the Society has “at least a 97 per cent success rate, [while] three per cent revert back to the streets. So the organisation has been moving pretty steady as we go forward right now…assisting the many homeless and obviously the women and children …and the youth that we are finding to be more and more on the streets,” Saffrey added.