In another display of solidarity in the fight against COVID-19, the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services (MSDFS) welcomed a donation of four (4) temperature gauges and a quantity of face masks from the Port-of-Spain City Corporation on Thursday May 28, 2020 on behalf of Sagicor. The exchange took place at the temporary homeless shelter on the ground floor of the Centre for Socially Displaced Persons and was attended by His Worship the Mayor, Alderman Joel Martinez who presented the equipment and supplies to the Ministry’s Chief Technical Officer (Ag.), Mr. Michael Reid and Administrator Manager for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Mr. Martin Alves.
During brief remarks, Port of Spain Mayor Joel Martinez thanking Sagicor for the donation, said that they will continue to collaborate to ensure all citizens especially the vulnerable are looked after. Mr. Reid citing ‘we are all in this together’, thanked the Mayor and Sagicor on behalf of the Honourable Camille Robinson-Regis, Minister of Social Development and Family Services and the Executive of the Ministry for the contribution to safeguarding the health and safety of street dwellers and all staff and volunteers on the frontlines at the shelter.
Prior to the presentation, Mayor Martinez was engaged by Mr Marcel Nassy, a temporary resident of the facility, who sought to commend the Ministry and the City of Port-of-Spain for their outstanding efforts in alleviating the plight of distressed citizens like himself, who were amongst the most at-risk for COVID-19. Also resident at the shelter is Ms. Michelle Alexander who is a multi-talented local craftswoman and certified pastry chef. During a brief walk-through of the temporary shelter, Ms. Alexander proudly displayed her woven craft items, which included hand bags and bathroom sets, which she had been able to produce in the safe and nurturing environment of the shelter. To this end, Ms. Alexander remarked that she was one of many individuals who were housed there, that was using the opportunity to do some introspection. To this end, she expressed a willingness to learn from her previous experiences and to grow and develop in the hopes that she would regain a sense of self independence through her various skills.
The Ministry, together with the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force constructed the street dweller facility to provide temporary shelter for street dwellers during COVID-19. To date, the centre houses thirty-two (32) males and one (1) female.