BELVEDERE--St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF) is assisting its 181 senior citizen tenants to access the senior citizens’ electricity relief offered by utilities company GEBE. The Foundation has taken care of the registration for the seniors eliminating the need for them to head to GEBE Headquarters in Philipsburg, a hassle many seniors would prefer not to have.
The registration of the seniors and the changing of low efficiency light bulbs to LED ones are carried out by the Housing Foundation in collaboration with GEBE. This project also falls under the Housing Foundation “20 Acts of Kindness” Programme that is connected to celebration of its 20th anniversary later this year.
This collaboration between the Housing Foundation and GEBE paves the way for structural future working relationship that will, by extension benefit to all Foundation tenants, said Helen Salomons, General Director of the Housing Foundation.
Public Housing and Energy Minister Angel Meyers has gotten hands-on to aid the collaboration. During his recent visit to the Housing Foundation’s Red Cross Seniors Building in Belvedere, he assisted with the installation of the first LED bulb in one of the senior citizen’s home.
GEBE supplies the energy-efficient LED bulbs and the Housing Foundation assists with installation in all dwellings. In addition to the 24 specific senior homes, the Housing Foundation has 157 seniors residing in its several projects.
The objective of the collaboration is for seniors living in Housing Foundation units to have their existing non-energy efficient light bulbs replaced with LED bulbs.
