Winning the hearts of St James North constituents is the primary goal of Steffanie Williams as she contests the May 21 by-election.
Williams, who said recently she was running under the banner of the “Community Empowerment Party”, was initially selected for the United Progressive Party, but after it decided to hold off contesting the by-election, she chose to continue on her own.
The advocate and volunteer pledged to enrich the community with programmes catering to literacy, care for the elderly and support for vulnerable children.
“Not only do I want to win the hearts of the persons in St James, I would like to implement a programme that caters to the elderly, one that caters to adult reading, one that caters to the children’s reading,” she told the Sunday Sun.
“I would like to initiate a programme that caters to children who have been abused, or children who have lost a parent, whether it’s a mother or father. I would also like to provide service that caters to parents where they can have a safe space to come and talk and express how they’re feeling.
“Being a parent is not easy. Sometimes, it can be very overwhelming and very challenging, so I believe that these initiatives can be very beneficial to the persons in St James North.”
She was speaking during a canvass recently in The Whim St Peter, which forms part of the St James North constituency.
Knocking from door to door, she engaged with residents on long-standing issues such as public transport and roadworks.
Many of the conversations also centred on the cost of living, which Williams said was also the common topic with those to whom she spoke in Weston, Rock Dundo and St Albans.
“The main thing I would have heard from people is that they feel neglected. They feel like Government isn’t paying them any mind, basically, and it’s like they’re dealing with those at the top but the people at the bottom are forgotten. Even the elderly, they feel neglected as well. From what I am seeing, better needs to be done,” she said.
“Honestly, I’m very excited, I have been having fun on this journey and, for me, I’ve already won. My children are seeing me doing stuff that they wouldn’t expect me to do, and other persons are also seeing me doing this and they would not expect me to do. I grew up poor and there’s always stigma when you grew up poor, or you’re told you’re not going to amount to be anything much, but when you break those barriers, and you step over that box and you do things, people see,” she added. (JRN)
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