News earlier this week that a one-year contract extension had been signed for the transitional shelter at Sucker Garden was most welcome. Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor VSA Richard Panneflek explained that a public bidding process will also start for a period of two or three years.
The latter is understandable with today’s rules regarding accountability and transparency, but leaving 32 occupants with nowhere to go simply was not an option. Established after the devastating passage of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017, the facility in a former adult club again proved its value during this unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic and related socioeconomic crisis.
Putting people in the street right now would also be a public health risk, in addition to creating more homelessness and possibly crime. During the negotiations it was reportedly agreed to expand the accommodation’s capacity to 75.
To be sure, this is no resort hotel and hardly a place one would want to stay for too long, but the idea remains to help inhabitants get paying jobs so they can find alternative affordable living space. However, neither is easy under the present circumstances, which makes the need to continue the programme even greater.
Besides, as the minister pointed out, homelessness has become a chronic issue and ignoring it will not make the problem go away. A community that disregards the plight of those who fall between the cracks and cannot have a decent existence without assistance from others does so at its own peril.
