Barbados will next month undertake its second national count of homeless people, as the government prepares to finalise a sweeping new policy designed to tackle the root causes of homelessness and overhaul the systems that perpetuate it, Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, Kirk Humphrey, said on Wednesday.
This point-in-time count, scheduled for July, will help authorities better understand the scale and nature of homelessness and guide targeted interventions, he said.
A new homelessness policy is being finalised with input from the UWI Cave Hill School of Business and is expected to go before ministers by the end of July, he added.
“We’re trying to get ahead of the problem,” Humphrey told police officers during a training session on Wednesday. “The machine that produces homelessness is what we have to rage against and break down.”
The minister noted that while the first count in December 2023 provided useful baseline data, a single snapshot is not enough to drive long-term policy.
“This time, officers will be in the field again, across the island, identifying and counting the number of people who are homeless. That will allow us to intervene more effectively,” he said.
The policy will prioritise upstream interventions in housing, education, employment and mental health, which Humphrey said are the root contributors to homelessness.
“It’s not just about responding to someone already on the street. We’re looking at the factors that get them there in the first place and trying to prevent that from happening,” he added.
Humphrey also raised concerns about the treatment of homeless people in public spaces.
“We see benches now with barriers to stop people from lying down but what that does is block others too, like people with disabilities, from being able to use public spaces. That’s not the kind of society we want. We shouldn’t be raging against the homeless person, we should be raging against the system that produces homelessness,” he said.
Wednesday’s training session, held at Savannah Beach Club, included presentations from the Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness (BAEH).
BAEH president Kemar Saffrey said the point-in-time count is one of many collaborative efforts with law enforcement and other agencies to identify and support individuals in need.
“All clients entering our shelter go through an assessment, and in some cases we refer them to the Psychiatric Hospital, QEH, or other support systems,” he said. “That kind of coordination is vital if we’re going to treat people with dignity and move them off the streets permanently.”
Saffrey also welcomed the policy shift, noting that the alliance is preparing to expand services with the addition of 30 new beds for women and children, thanks to support from the Japanese Embassy.
Minister Humphrey said that once the Cabinet signs off on the policy, supporting legislation will follow quickly.
(SM)
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