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OFFICIAL OPENING OF SANTA CRUZ CARE CENTRE
The Hon. Noel Arscot (centre), Minister of Local Government and Community Development; Sheldon Howell, Project Officer at Food For The Poor (FFP) Jamaica and Marcia Mullings-Barrett, Regional Mental Health Officer for the Southern Region prepare to cut the ribbon to signal the official opening of the Santa Cruz Care Centre in St. Elizabeth.
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CARE CENTRE RECEIVES LOCAL GOVERNMENT MINISTRY SUPPORT
The Hon. Noel Arscot, Minister of Local Government and Community Development, addresses the official opening ceremony of the Santa Cruz Care Centre in St. Elizabeth, recently. During the opening ceremony, Minister Arscot pledged J$100,000.00 to assist with the immediate needs of the Centre.
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Food
For The Poor Constructs New Home For Care Centre
in
St. Elizabeth
Spanish Town, St.
Catherine (August 9, 2012) – Food For The Poor-Jamaica (FFP-Jamaica) has
enhanced services provided for the mentally ill and homeless residents of St.
Elizabeth by constructing a new facility for the Santa Cruz Care Centre. This
health-care initiative is a collaborative effort with the St. Elizabeth Care
Committee, a charity that caters to the needs of street people. The Centre was
previously located in a cramped area of the Santa Cruz Health Centre. Thanks to
FFP-Jamaica the homeless now have access to a new, spacious and well-equipped
facility.
The
Santa Cruz Care Centre includes a spacious dining area, an office, a fully
equipped kitchen and modern bathroom facilities with shower enclosures for both
males and females. The Centre offers hot meals, change of clothing, sanitation
facilities, necessary medications and general health care to the homeless and
mentally ill.
At
the recent official opening ceremony, the Hon. Noel Arscot, Minister of Local
Government and Community Development, commended FFP-Jamaica for this timely and
necessary initiative. “We have to work together to adequately care for those
who find themselves in unfortunate circumstances. Through this project, Food For The Poor and
the St. Elizabeth Care Committee have demonstrated their willingness to serve
others and this is quite commendable. I
am sure that the mandate of this Centre, which is to care for the needs of our
less fortunate brothers and sisters, will be enhanced as a result of this
initiative.”
During
his presentation, Minister Arscot also pledged monetary support to assist with
the immediate needs of the Centre and stated “the Care Centre will stand as a
beacon of hope and rescue for street people in St. Elizabeth.”
The
Santa Cruz Care Centre will be managed by the St. Elizabeth Care Committee, who
have served the homeless for the past six years. Their mission is to provide a
better quality of life for street people. According to Beryl Rochester,
Chairman of the Committee, prior to FFP-Jamaica’s donation, their mission was
being hampered due to limited space, lack of proper sanitary conveniences and
inadequate kitchen facilities.
“We
used to operate from a small area that the Health Centre permitted us to use.
However, this was posing a serious challenge especially as it related to space.
We realized that we had to do something about the situation so we adopted a
collaborative approach,” Mrs. Rochester said.
“Today, that approach is paying off. This new structure will aid in the
restoration of conversational skills, self-respect, dignity and self-support
for the recipients. That’s the impact and that’s our reward.”
(More)
Approximately
65 mentally ill and homeless persons will benefit from the project. Previously, healthcare service was offered to
the beneficiaries once a week; but this is expected to increase with the
operation of the new Centre.
Sheldon
Howell, Project Officer at FFP-Jamaica, said that FFP remains committed to the
overall development of our less fortunate brothers and sisters across the
island. Therefore, “we are proud to have
partnered with the St. Elizabeth Care Committee to provide a better quality of
life for the recipients. We built a four-unit structure to eliminate the space
issue. In addition to the upgraded
bathroom facilities, we ensured that the kitchen area had proper storage
cupboards, a stove and a refrigerator as this was not previously in place. This
facility will surely make life much easier for the Committee.”
Mr.
Howell explained that Food For The Poor is concerned with the holistic
development of people. “In this regard, our goal is to improve the health,
economic, social and spiritual conditions of the persons we serve through
emergency relief aid and programmes in the areas of housing, food, health care,
water, sanitation, education, agriculture, outreach and micro-enterprise.”
The
Ministry of Health also supported the initiative, as pointed out by Dr. M
Irons-Morgan, Director of Mental Health.
She said “When interventions are done early, they cost less. This intervention will aid in the assessment,
treatment, rehabilitation and re-integration of the beneficiaries. Lives will be rescued and persons will be
empowered to live productive lives.”
Among
the other invitees at the opening ceremony were: Mr. Raymond Pryce, Member of
Parliament for Eastern St. Elizabeth; His Worship the Mayor Councillor Everton
Fisher, Mayor of Black River; and Mr. Stallin Brown, Councillor for the Santa
Cruz Division.
Contacts:
Petri-Ann Henry | Public Relations Officer: (876) 564-2886 | petri-annh@foodforthepoorja.org
Public Relations Dept. (876) 907-3664
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