BIPARTISAN EFFORT NEEDED TO END HOMELESSNESS

May 09, 2017 Editorial, Features / Columnists

While there is no reliable data on the number of homeless persons, it is estimated that homelessness has increased substantially over the years. Homeless persons are almost on every main street in Georgetown. The growing number of homeless persons in the city should have led to a civic soul-searching that there is a problem and the need to find a solution. However, homelessness is not only a problem in Guyana, it is a worldwide issue.
There are several reasons that contribute to homelessness. They include but are not limited to violence, family problems, eviction, drug abuse, poverty and unemployment and the inability to acquire and maintain a regular job.
Homelessness is also the condition of people without a permanent dwelling, such as a house or apartment. They are most often unable to acquire and maintain regular, safe, secure and adequate housing. It is fair to add that the deportation of many Guyanese from the United States and Canada are also responsible for and contribute to the homelessness in the country today. Many of the deportees left Guyana at a very young age and therefore do not have any relatives remaining in the country.
Finding a solution to the homelessness problem across the country has been hard for Governments, both past and present. The current government has a notoriously tough time reducing the number of homeless persons in the country.
There are no programmes or plans in place to reduce homelessness. It is difficult to discuss homelessness in Guyana without reflecting on the general attitude of the majority toward the less fortunate whom they perceived to be mentally ill and are incapable of reason or meaningful occupation. Many have considered the homeless as a nuisance to the general public.
With the above in mind, it would indicate that because of no timely government intervention and with little or no data and policy direction, the issue of homelessness has been allowed to reach chronic proportions with subsequent impact on the health care system, social services, security, and the crime situation in the country.
Indeed, the lack of reliable information on homelessness has made it very difficult for Governments to develop adequate policies and programmes to relieve the plight of the homeless. What is needed is a comprehensive population survey to be conducted to ascertain the number of homeless people, as well as those who live and work on the streets and in temporary shelters. It is necessary that this survey takes into account the biometric and social and mental capacity of the cadre of homeless persons, as not all are incapable of occupation or are unwilling to enter into re-socialization in society.
It is the view of many that homelessness is a solvable issue but it requires national attention and the encouragement and participation of all stakeholders. Most of all, it requires political will to empower and transform the lives of the less fortunate among us.
It is immoral for society to accept and to believe that having people living on the streets is normal. The recent murder of a vagrant, Jerome Cumberbatch, at Bourda Green should alert those in authority to the danger faced by homeless persons. Action is urgently needed to protect them.
For decades, the large majority of homeless persons in the country were poor, single, middle-aged men struggling with mental illness and substance abuse. That has changed. Today, it is widely recognized that people who are homeless are from a variety of backgrounds and circumstances. Women and children have joined the ranks of the homeless.
While there is optimism that homelessness will reduce, it will take a bipartisan effort to do so.

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