The island’s leading homelessness advocate warned on Wednesday that Bridgetown’s growing number of derelict and abandoned buildings is fuelling safety risks and enabling drug use and other illicit activity among the capital’s homeless population.
In the aftermath of the March 20 fire at the former Massy Stores building at the Pierhead, Kemar Saffrey, head of the Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness told Barbados TODAY that while the cause of the blaze remains unknown, the increasing use of abandoned properties by homeless persons has become a serious concern in recent years.
He noted that while the demand for shelter services remains high, the rise in homeless persons seeking to sleep in the increasing number of abandoned or unused buildings in the capital is a sign of a broader and growing issue.
“The shelter is in very high demand. We have to look at it from two angles, not only just homeless people that are on the street, but people that are becoming homeless daily,” Saffrey said. “I think the onus is on businesses and owners of these vacant buildings… to board up their properties. We’re finding that too much time landlords… are leaving the building, not boarding up properly, and the homeless are utilising those buildings aggressively,” he said.
In recent years, both private sector figures and members of the administration have been calling for renewed efforts to revitalise Bridgetown, as commercial activity in the area has steadily declined, with many businesses closing their doors or relocating to other parts of the island.
Saffrey explained that, given that reality, some of these properties are now being used for drug consumption and other illicit activities. In cases where individuals occupy these spaces for extended periods, they may become resistant to seeking help.
“In some cases years, they do not want to seek assistance from the shelter, nor do they want to seek facility assistance from medical facilities or otherwise,” he said, noting that some individuals instead rely on welfare support to sustain harmful habits.
He added that the rules and structure of shelters have discouraged some individuals from accessing services.
“We are seeing a lot of our clients utilising buildings that are vacant, because they know they can’t smoke, they know they can’t drink at our property,” Saffrey explained.
As a result, he said, abandoned buildings continue to attract individuals dealing with addiction and untreated mental health challenges, compounding the issue in Bridgetown and beyond.
Saffrey issued a direct appeal to property owners to take greater responsibility.
“I am pleading with the landowners and the building owners to… board up your property properly… and… take care and maintain the properties,” he urged.
He also addressed public concerns about why more homeless individuals are not accessing shelters, pointing to underlying issues that make intervention more complex.
“Many people may have questioned why we are not seeing homeless persons in the shelter, and often it goes back to the drug addiction and the mental health challenges that they are having,” he said. “If they are on these drugs and they could utilise this property… you will have a problem with homeless persons utilising these buildings in and around Bridgetown.”
(SB)
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