The food caravan opposite the Republic Bank on Robb and Camp streets, Georgetown has become the site where numerous vagrants attend to their toilet matters and wash their clothing.
On Sunday last, a bucket of water was discovered alongside the trench near the caravan along with a scrubbing board, soap and discoloured clothing. Not too far away, operators of the caravan were doing food prep.
Contacted on the public health risk posed by these activities, Deputy Mayor Denise Miller said that the Mayor and City Council had received numerous complaints from food vendors and not only from that Robb Street location. Miller told this newspaper that she and Mayor Alfred Mentore were cognisant of the challenges food vendors face daily, and she lamented the lack of adequate mental health and wellness institutions in place to accommodate victims of mental illnesses, who are among the destitute seen in the streets of Georgetown.
Miller said that she and Mentore are expected to meet with Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr Vindhya Persaud on the growing concern of vagrancy and destitution in the capital city. The Deputy Mayor recommended that a holistic approach be taken to address this matter of national importance.
(bottles and other refuse)
During this year’s budget debate, Minister Persaud had vowed that the ministry was working assiduously to address the issue of destitution, including a way to remove the homeless off the streets and place them in a safe environment such as the night shelter.
But the reality is that not all of the destitute can be accommodated in the night shelter, some critics say.
