Elderly man pleads for a place to rest

Vincent Trowers has spent a lifetime surviving against the odds. He claims he never knew his parents and was forced to grow up long before he could enjoy his childhood. Now 72, the Marlborough, St Mary, resident is facing the harsh realities of old age -- illness, disability, and loneliness -- without the comfort of a proper home.

"From a little boy, mi never know mi mother nor father," Trowers told THE STAR. "Mi lived with mi grand aunt, but by grade three she put me and mi brother out. A rat cut coffee me pick up, dry it, beat it and sell it fi survive."

Decades of hard physical labour defined his life. He worked tirelessly in farming, bush clearing, and odd jobs, earning just enough to get by. But more than 10 years ago, an accident changed everything.

"Mi did go climb one tree and one a mi foot slide off, and then mi lose mi balance and haffi let go because one hand did have in the cutlass. Mi neva drop because the next foot get stuck and hold me up," he recalled.

He later realised that he had fractured one of his legs during the incident. The injury worsened, and soon after both legs became stiff and almost immobile. Additional injuries to his hands compounded the hardship, leaving him struggling to perform even the simplest daily tasks.

"Mi can't walk, but mi try fi scramble with the two stick," he said. "The foot dem nah stretch out. The doctors a give me medication to try and purge out the infection, but them nuh seh if dem can set back."

Trowers currently lives alone in a fragile shelter he describes as "little more than a roof over my head". Nights are the hardest, he says, when visitors are gone and no one is there to assist him.

"Mi never own a proper home, and at mi age things just get harder," he said.

Justice of the Peace (JP) Tim Bailey, who has known Trowers for more than 40 years, describes his situation as heartbreaking.

"He has always been hard-working, industrious and independent. He cultivated his fields and superintended his crops and animals," the JP said.

"Today he is unwell and essentially homeless, decrepit and infirm. His two legs are paralysed and his hands are unable to manage the hard, manual work to which they are accustomed," Bailey added.

Throughout his life, Trowers did whatever work he could find to survive.

"When I was younger, mi do everything I could in order to survive. Mi burn coal, mi do bush work fi people, and I did a little farming," he said.

Trowers also claims to have worked at the state-owned National Housing Trust.

"I used to work at the housing trust but after retirement age mi never get nothing because them neva have me as a legitimate employee."

He admits that he has relatives, but they have families of their own and try to help him as best as they can. He said he survives on his social security PATH benefit, along with the goodwill of relatives and community members.

Meanwhile, the JP told THE STAR that he has written to charitable organisation Food For The Poor on Trowers' behalf, seeking a house.

Keeping his fingers crossed for a positive response from the charitable organisation, Trowers is hoping and praying that the State, through one of its housing programmes, can come to his rescue.

"Mi never really know how to go about getting this kind of help, and mi did give up hope seh mi ever a guh get the help, but if mi could get a chance through the housing programme now, it would make mi rest," he said.

Trowers' plea is for a safe, stable home where he can spend his remaining years with dignity.

"Old age mek mi can't work no more, but me work all mi life. Mi woulda really glad if mi have somewhere and mi nuh haffi a worry," he said.

Those who wish to assist or support Vincent Trowers can contact him at (876) 336-9318.