A new unit – the Resiliency and Reintegration Unit – will soon be located in the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs.
Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, Kirk Humphrey, revealed this today as he addressed the post-Cabinet press conference at Webster’s Industrial Park, Wildey, St. Michael.
Explaining the rationale for the Unit, which he noted should be in place by April 1, Mr. Humphrey said it was “going to be vital to the delivery of services”.
Adding that over the last few years, Barbados has been in a climate crisis; facing disasters; and persons had been evicted from their households and some made homeless, he said the unit is meant to address those things.
Describing the concept, he noted that such a Unit would have been necessary as a response to issues related to Hurricane Elsa such as housing needs which Government had been called upon to address at that time.
Noting that his Ministry was also now responding to housing needs where there is no Unit to address these, he said: “So, this one Unit brings together those three areas primarily… It allows us to fill a gap in the Government’s delivery of social services, and from April 1, this Unit will be in place. This Unit is now in the Estimates of Expenditure and will be functioning from April 1.”
Stating that it would not be staffed by new people, but would be a bringing together of two departments, the Poverty Alleviation Relief Programme in the Ministry and the Poverty Coordinator, he said what would be needed would be “a couple of field investigators to go and do some of this work”.
Disclosing that it would be a 24-hour response system, he said: “There are many times where these things happen in the middle of the night, and persons call the Welfare Department; persons call the Ministry, and of course the officers work nine-to-five, …. but these persons will be available 24 hours to allow persons to know that in the event that they have a disaster that this is a 24-hour Government, and we will be in a position to respond to those issues as they arise.” (PR/GIS)
