The Fifth Station:
Jesus says when you hold a banquet,
invite the poor
Arrival at Poor Relief
The streets of downtown Kingston have become home to
thousands of destitute men and women in the capital of Jamaica. They
sleep in abandon buildings, cars, or even the sidewalk. Their meals are
often scavenged from garbage cans. The Poor Relief Dept. is a Jamaican
government welfare agency created to improve the standard of living for
those who are destitute and enhance their quality of life through
counseling and rehabilitation. It is also an agency which relies island
wide on, Food For The Poor to provide food and housing for many.
In 1989, the newly elected mayor of Kingston and St. Andrew
expressed a desire to improve the circumstances of her fellow brothers
and sisters who were living on the streets. Mrs. Pearline Barrett,
Inspector of the poor at the time, whom I had the opportunity to meet on
our visit, sent a letter to the mayor congratulating her and pledging to
work together to achieve the goal of helping the street people.
In 1993, Food For The Poor donated approximately $700,000 for the
construction of a feeding and bathing area. While construction was
taking place a team including the Salvation Army, Community Mental
Health Officers, Poor Relief Staff, and Police visited street people to
let them know about the facilities that would be available and to see if
they were interested. The response was overwhelmingly positive.
The Feeding & Hygiene program was officially launched and until
this day continues to provide people with spirituality in that they say
grace before their meals, baths, clothes, and breakfast.
Residents are encouraged to attend church and they are
responsible for the cleaning of the building and the premises. This
“Shelter” works in conjunction with the government who pays the staff,
utilities, and maintenance bills, and others such as Food For The Poor
provide food, clothing, toiletries, bedding, etc.
They also are currently involved in renovation of the sanitation
system and much needed repairs to the building.
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