Guyana Foundation establishes database on the homeless

Nov 12, 2015 News

Local non-governmental organisation (NGO), the Guyana Foundation, has embarked upon the establishment of a homeless database with the ultimate aim of crafting new developmental policies.

Local NGO, The Guyana Foundation is in the process of establishing a homeless database

Guyana is a nation plagued with a high number of homeless persons, and therefore Guyana Foundation found it necessary to develop a database, said Managing Director, Anthony Autar.
Autar explained that the database on the homeless project is one which received funding from a Canadian donor. He said that the project comprises a survey on homelessness in Guyana. He said that GF volunteers hit the streets and speak with the homeless to find out more about individual situations.
“We spoke with the homeless people to find out what are the factors that are driving homelessness, what the challenges are that they face on the streets, and what they need to be able to get off of the streets and into some form of sustainable housing,” Autar elaborated.
Furthermore, he said, the ultimate aim of the exercise is to equip GF with the information it needs to develop future projects. He emphasised that GF wanted to “help improve the lives of homeless people”. He further stressed that the interview exercises are useful since they allow GF to identify the “big needs” and tackle them. Autar also said that these exercises are useful since they provide the Foundation with up-to-date and factual data.
“We would sometimes find that what we think the needs are, are not actually the biggest needs,” he said. He explained that oftentimes the obvious needs are not the most important ones.
For example, he said, when it comes to homeless people, many persons think that food is the biggest need. However, Autar said that from the interviews conducted so far, homeless persons are eating about four or five times a day.
“But then, they don’t have access to shower facilities and clean clothing. So, these exercises show us different things and we’re always learning.”
According to Autar, GF has spoken with at least four dozen homeless persons in Georgetown. Autar indicated that while GF would like to extend its reach beyond Georgetown, there is currently a lack of manpower. He said, too, that the majority of Guyana’s homeless can be found in Georgetown, thus allowing for easier access to a wide cross-section.
“If you were, for example, to go on the East Coast [of Demerara], you’d be searching for a while for just one or two persons. We’re trying to be efficient,” Autar said.
He said that once GF is finished with collecting data, it will conduct an analysis and see what the findings are.
Meanwhile, Autar stressed that a collaborative approach is needed to adequately deal with Guyana’s vagrancy issue. In the past, there were indications from high ranking officials that vagrants would be removed from the streets and relocated. Many had cited that vagrants not only affected tourism but also contributed to the neglect of the environment.
According to Autar, the reports of the removal of vagrants were “troubling” since, from all indications, no single agency wanted to take responsibility for the job.
“I thought this would have changed by now. The Ministry of Public Health is saying that it’s a matter for the Social Protection Ministry, and yet Social Protection is saying it’s a matter for the Ministry of Public Health. They keep bouncing this responsibility back and forth,” he said. He further said that this was a reason for concern since the issue was such a large one, yet, “nobody seems to want to take responsibility for it and nobody seems willing to come together and collaborate.”