Emil Lee with Dr. J. Foundation staff during one of the tours of the reintegration shelter shortly after opening. (File photo)
SUCKER GARDEN–Candidate on the United Democrats (UD) slate Emil Lee says the reintegration shelter in Sucker Garden, managed by Dr. J. Foundation, has been in many ways a successful programme and now is the time to address solutions for the housing dilemma in the country.
“When formulating opinions about this project, it is important to remember the purpose and facts,” said former social affairs minister Lee.
“Indeed, there is a shortage of affordable housing and some people are in need of government support. However, the reintegration shelter was never designed to be a permanent solution for affordable housing. Housing at the shelter was just one part of the programme services. The reintegration programme itself served multiple purposes.”
He said the Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Affairs VSA had taken a holistic approach to addressing the financial and social issues faced by the most vulnerable groups, with the specific objective of facilitating reintegration into the community.
“This being said, several of the clients already have successfully transitioned out of the shelter and back into the community,” he said. “The professional staff of Dr. J. Foundation continues to work with the Ministry of VSA to find solutions for the rest of the clients, which I am confident will be completed by the project end date.”
He said the Dr J. Foundation management in combination with the VSA Ministry had recognised at an early stage in the programme that the current housing crisis would impact some clients’ ability to properly reintegrate into the community.
“Moreover, this concern was communicated to the Council of Ministers so that they could begin to find a more permanent solution. Though finding a housing solution was not within the scope of the Ministry of VSA, the Ministry was working on a solution to provide subsidised housing for the most vulnerable groups.
“All of us who experienced the past disaster have to deal with some form of traumatic stress and so we should focus more on solving the current housing problem rather than trying to benefit from the hysterical environment that exists by stressing the Reintegration Shelter clients even more.”
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/92834-lee-says-now-is-time-for-real-solutions-for-housing-dilemma
View comments
Hide comments