Government plans to provide structures to house ‘street roamers’

The government is planning to build structures for socially displaced persons (vagrants) who live on the streets of Kingstown.

This was stated by Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves on the WEFM, Issue at Hand programme on Sunday, November 20.

He said he held discussions with officials from the Ministry of Social Development last week and gave them instructions to identify places where the government can build structures for vagrants.

He mentioned four vagrants who find abode behind the unfinished, abandoned British American building in Kingstown.

Noting that some of these ‘street roamers’ are persons “who have mental challenges”, the Prime Minister said “They are from all over the country, they are not a danger, many of them, to other persons.”

Many of the vagrants in Kingstown are said to be from rural communities who go to live on the streets of the capital, as a result of family issues.

The vagrant situation is just one of the many challenges the government faces as it attempts to clean up the city.

In the November 11 issue, SEARCHLIGHT reported that the aggressive behaviour of persons who roam the street of Kingstown is causing concern to business operators who have said that the government needs to step in and deal with this problem before things get worse.

Last Thursday, November 17, a young woman related to colleagues at her place of work that one such person accused her of following him and made threats of violence towards her.