Living in shambles ... 60 people in one house ... Residence in dire need of repairs

For longer than any resident at 74 North Street in Kingston can remember, the living condition have been terrible, and overtime, it kept getting worse.
More than 60 people including 19 children and two disabled persons live at these premises in Denham Town, all of whom are waiting for the day when they can get a proper place to call home.
"The housing situation is very dire," said Garfield Wilson, who resides in the wooden two-storey structure has seen its better days.
So rickety are most of the wood that make up the structure that a female resident caused Paul Harris to be careful as he attempted to drive a nail into the structure that cries out for attention in a section of the capital city which has been experiencing rapid and sustained decay.
"Which representative? No councillor, no MP nah do nothing. We go to them but not as a group, but people have brought it to there attention," one woman said.
The premises at 74 North Street fall in the constituency of West Kingston which is represented in parliament by Desmond McKenzie. While attempts to contact McKenzie have been unsuccessful, the MP has been on record of calling for an improvement in the housing stock in his constituency.
"Housing would be the number one on the list as far as needs go. The housing stock of West Kingston dates back to 1963," McKenzie told parliamentarians two years ago.
"West Kingston areas such as Denham Town is one of the oldest residential communities in Kingston but the standard of housing leaves much to be desired," he added.

Adverse weather conditions

Garfield Wilson, who has spent all his life at 74 North Street, said the poor quality of the houses exposes residents to several hazards.
Sonya Davis, another resident, told THE STAR that persons get nervous whenever there are adverse weather conditions, but even so, their political representatives have not responded to their plight in a meaningful way.
"When storm come dem only pass and say a wonder if that building deh ago drop dung. If yuh check the household, there is a child or even children in each home," she said
Even though the residents were making the most of what they had at their disposal, there were some among them who told our news team that where they lay their heads are far from homely. For many, it is an old building that is in need of serious attention.
Davis and Wilson believe that one way to assist the residents is to provide them with building materials.
"People don't must have the resource fi put a household right now. So I would say material wise cause you afi go have some place to put people. My mother nuh come from Kingston but a yasso me born. Everybody know say we poor but if the MP give us the material a lot of people would come together and do the twork."