By Khadidja Ba
As homelessness continues around the city of Georgetown, the Sunday Stabroek last week spoke with 25 persons who sleep at nights on various parts of Regent Street,
Many of them were prepared to try to lift themselves out of their plight but various problems stood in the way: addiction, lack of an ID card, abandonment by their families etc. Importantly, most of them said that social services have never reached out to them on Regent Street to offer help, advice or support. Several of them clearly have health care needs.
Their accounts paint a grim picture of hardship and frustration, as they struggle to survive on the streets with little expectation of aid.
Voices from the street
For those living on Regent Street, these accounts echo their daily struggles. Many have been on the streets for years, some for as long as 16 years, while others arrived more recently due to financial strain, family issues, or addiction.
“I here on the road for 15 years. I don’t work,” shared one man. Another, a 41-year-old, has been homeless for 16 years after being kicked out by family members. “I didn’t choose to be out here; circumstances got me here,” he explained. “My mother and sister put me out the house, I got three children, though. I try to rent a room in Charlotte Street for them, but the money not flowing so we stay $2000 a night up to Saturday… when de money flowing again, we gonna go back.”
When asked where his children were, he replied, “Up de road”.
Kevin, 29, shared a similar sense of resignation: “I was doing alright, but I addicted. I lost my job as a waiter, and I don’t have ID to get a new one. I tried going to rehab, but they told me the beds are full. Every day I wake up, I wonder what I’m gonna do next.”
For many, a lack of identification has become a significant barrier to finding work.
“I don’t have an ID card, and I try to work, but they tell me I need an ID card to work,” said another individual, who has been homeless for five years. Similarly, a 54-year-old man recalled being turned away from a health centre after years of living on the streets.
“I went to the centre in East but the doctor throw me out,” he said.
The struggles for shelter and basic needs
Despite the hardships, many expressed a desire to find work and get back on their feet.
“They could help us get a wuk,” said one man, who had been on the streets for over a decade. “I got lil mason skill, but they don’t pay we no nice money, just $300 or $500.”
When asked about government assistance, most individuals said they had never been approached by social service representatives. “Nobody never come ‘round,” said a man who has lived on Regent Street for 10 years. “I see people come around a while back, but they just talk to us once or twice and then they gone. They never come back.”
Some mentioned hearing about shelters but were either turned away or found them unhelpful.
“I walk by and see a night shelter, but when I go, the lady tells me to come back the next morning. But in de morning, I gotta hustle,” said one individual who has been homeless for two years. “They say they full, or the beds are for people who are more in need, like the elderly or disabled”
Others, like one woman, have resorted to makeshift solutions, sleeping on cardboard in a nearby alley or under a piece of plastic. “Ize got meh cardboard here pun a night,” she said, pointing to a small, makeshift shelter near the street. For many like her, safety and security are luxuries they cannot afford.
Despite the overwhelming sense of abandonment, a small community has formed among the homeless, with individuals looking out for one another in the absence of formal support. “Everybody gotta eat, you know” said one man. However, these bonds offer little comfort in the face of the broader systemic failures that keep people trapped in the cycle of homelessness.
Priya, 48, says her path to homelessness began with domestic violence.
“My husband used to beat me. I had to leave yuh know, I feel he wudda kill me” she recalls. “I had nowhere to go…and I couldn’t go back to him. I’ve been deh hay bout 3 years now”, She looks around at the other homeless people on Regent Street, saying “We all got our own because you know, but I think if we had some help you- no help.”
Hayma, 34, shared a similar experience with shelters. “I tried to get into a shelter one night, but they said they de full. I walked all the way to that one deh by Ruimveldt…I just come back right here and duh is it.” Tanya, like many others, has grown resigned to sleeping on the streets, moving from alley to alley to avoid the elements.
The cycle of addiction
Addiction plays a central role in many stories of homelessness. For Kevin, 26, his struggle with drugs led to the loss of his job and his home.
“I get hooked on smoking the drugs and like me ain’t know no rehab hay, so is do a lil hussle. I used to deh West Side with me family but them put me out and so.”
His situation reflects the vicious circle many face—addiction, job loss, and lack of identification, making recovery seem nearly impossible.
Others, like Brandon, 46, have been on the streets for over a decade.
“I used to have a good job at SleepIn Casino after I got deported, but first I was a security at Mercy but I got to drinking on the job and they fired me, but I lost the job at SleepIn too after I started drinking, sleeping on the job and so. I’ve been on the road ever since.” Brandon’s voice cracked with emotion as he spoke.
Mark, 50, shares a similar struggle with addiction. “I was living at my mother’s house, but I got caught up in the drugs, and she put me out. I tried to get clean, but I don’t know about the rehab thing, maybe if they had like them halfway house kinda thing?”
The individuals living on Regent Street do not lack the desire to rebuild their lives. Many have expressed a willingness to work, get clean, and re-enter society, but systemic barriers—addiction, lack of identification, insufficient shelter options, and inadequate outreach—continue to hold them back. “I try nuff times but like I failing”, another person added.
