There is an increase in gunshot victims who are seeking help from the Social Empowerment Agency (SEA).
“That trend is on the rise. We have young men, 20 and bedridden, paralysed. Persons who would have got a gunshot which severed their backbone and they’re unable to walk, so they’re now living off the social services for life. Some approach the Social Empowerment Agency seeking to get a hospital bed, because you know when they lay in their normal bed, sores can arise,” said social worker Dionne Watson.
She reported that officials started to recognise the trend in 2024 when young men became disabled as a result of gunshot injury.
Watson said they were also seeing stabbing victims as well as individuals becoming amputees as a result of diabetes and uncontrolled diabetes at the agency.
Her comments were made during the Social Empowerment Agency (SEA) and the Carlisle Laboratories Limited Month Of The Disabled Health and Wellness Fair on the grounds of the agency, formerly the Disabilities Unit in Maxwelton, Lower Collymore Rock, St Michael.
Watson said having a caregiver was also vital for people with disabilities who needed assistance when family members were not present to administer care to the individual.
Additionally, she said they were overwhelmed on a daily basis trying to source wheelchairs to clients. However, she noted that some organisations like the Wheelchair Foundation assisted when the agency fell short.
Watson urged individuals to take a different path in life and avoid resorting to violence as both parties
could be severely impacted. She also pleaded with parents to lead their children on the right path “Find a different slate in life. It’s not all about anger and frustration and taking it out on another person. It’s about doing the right thing. The right thing doesn’t start as an adult, it starts from a child. Parents need to guide their children in the right way. If a child gets into a dispute at school, don’t tell them to retaliate . . . because sometimes these things get out of hand. Speak to your children from home and keep them on the right path. Do good, let good follow you, she said.
(AJ)
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