Many factors contribute to homelessness

EDITOR: Homelessness can be considered a breach of human rights, yet is not only present in SVG, but in almost every country in the world. I know of persons who were making it here in SVG, but migrated to supposedly greener pastures, become homeless.

If you do your own investigation and research and are honest, you will realize that homelessness in many cases [is] due to many reasons. For some, it has to do with drugs, while for some it is a mental issue that contributed to the homelessness and for others, it may as a result of circumstances and economic situations.

Here in SVG some of the persons that are homeless have chosen to remain homeless. There are some who have been offered a home and help, but have refused and choosing rather to be on the streets. I would agree that in some of these cases it may be mental and psychological, so hence the reason for the refusal to leave the streets.

In some cases where children are involved, it may be a case of abandonment by parents. Even some adults have been abandoned by their loved ones. To deny someone the right to a safe home and environment is a crime and those who are responsible for this crime ought to be held accountable. This leads to this point, where it is important that the family service do a campaign of reaching out to these homeless persons and try to find out their reason for being homeless.

In some cases, it may require contacting the relatives of some of these people and ensure that they take responsibility for their loved ones. When in the case of abandonment, those who are involved in abandoning their loved ones should be charged. Each case has to be treated differently, for in some cases where the homeless persons who refuse to leave the streets may require some professional help in terms of counselling and social support be given.

In the case of mental issue, those persons ought to be taken and treated professionally at the Mental Health Centre. Similar can be applied to those whose case is a psychological one. In the case of those whose situation is due to financial situations and with no help, then here is where the government and other organisations can come in and assist. But these recommendations offered can only be realized when proper investigations and outreach is done.

It will be naive of me to think that having done all what I mentioned that there would be no homeless person. There would still be homeless persons after everything is done to help, but at least it would minimize the homelessness. I do believe that there are persons who really want to be off the streets, but are on the streets. Let us reach out and help. May God bless us all.

Kennard King