Manchester men grateful for new homes

Clifton McPherson was a happy man last Thursday when he finally got a roof over his head. The previously homeless man, who left St John Bosco Boys’ Home in Manchester at age 18, had lived on the streets of Mandeville since Hurricane Gilbert. He survived by selling a variety of chemicals, such as fabric softener, on the streets but was often taken advantage of.

“Me have a brother and a sister, but dem nuh business with me. But thanks to Ms Thompson from the Poor Relief Department, me get likkle something over the years,” an emotional McPherson told CENTRAL STAR. He said that he had recently been told to leave the premises of the Mandeville Post Office, where he slept at nights, because they had engaged the services of a security company.

The second recipient, Denroy Rowe, who lived at the Manchester Infirmary, was eager to begin occupying his beautiful new house.

“No one have to ask me if I love it (the house). It is a relief to the heart. I give thanks and praise. I just want Mr [Desmond] Mckenzie get up and cut the ribbon now so I can go inside. Me love it. I am leaving the infirmary, but I am begging you to give the people at the infirmary cable connection so they can see the news. I am leaving, but I still care about them 100 per cent,” an overjoyed Rowe said.

‘Own-source’ funds

Two studio units were handed over by the Manchester Municipal Corporation and Local Government and Community Development Minister Desmond McKenzie to McPherson and Rowe during a ceremony for the opening of indigent-housing units at Hatfield, Manchester. They were constructed with ‘own-source’ funds, but the ministry will be refunding the Manchester Municipal Corporation, which carried out the project.

“We committed last year to build 28 such facilities across the island, two for each parish. We made a commitment that we are going to build houses that will stand the test of time, and we are going to use concrete and steel,” McKenzie said.

McKenzie said that some of the conditions under which Jamaica’s poor live prompt the question of why more money cannot be found to do more than is being done. Noting the dire need to address the issue, McKenzie said that in addition to providing the houses, all were equipped with a new bed, tables, chairs, a two-burner gas stove with a cylinder, a fridge, perimeter fencing, wheelchair ramps, bathroom facilities for the disabled, water supply, electricity, and a paved driveway.

The residents will continue to receive weekly visits from the staff of the Poor Relief Department, as well as checks to ensure their continued safety, because although they are now living on their own, they are deemed to be extensions of the infirmary.