Combined Departmental Resources Ensure Safe Shelter Experience

Fri, Sep 6th 2019, 01:42 PM

Officials from across several government ministries, corporations, agencies and departments have combined their resources and assets to ensure that the needs of persons who have sought shelter, or will be sheltered at the Kendal G. L. Isaacs National Gymnasium, are met.

Personnel from various departments of the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development -- Department of Social Services, Department of Rehabilitative Welfare Services, Department of Gender and Family Affairs, and the Urban Renewal Commission are among social services staff responsible for managing the shelter.

Led by Ms. Andrea Newbold, a Chief Probation Officer with the Department of Rehabilitative Welfare Services who serves as Shelter Manager, the shelter management team consists of administrators, social workers and staff of all ranks.

The team has established delineating spaces, separating the single, male occupants from the women and children, while establishing clear spaces for families, the elderly and persons with disabilities.

Personnel from the Royal Bahamas Defence Force are playing key roles in ensuring those delineations are adhered to, in addition to providing around-the-clock security measures both indoors and outdoors, to help maintain safe spaces.

Nurses from the Department of Public Health, Ministry of Health, have established a Health Desk at the shelter where they have been administering health checks on the occupants, particularly the elderly and those with additional special needs among other duties, in an effort to maintain good health.

Officials at the National Sports Authority, Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, are also utilizing their human and other resources to “help make the process work” at the Kendal G.L. Isaacs National Gymnasium.

First Responders from the Royal Bahamas Police Force have also been at work, transporting a number of the persons they would have rescued from flooded homes in New Providence safely to shelter.

“In everything that we do at the ministry we want to be equitable; we want to be inclusive; we want to ensure that best practices are always adhered to and so the decision was made to ensure that there are delineating spaces between the single males and the women and children, while we keep families together and provide for the elderly and persons with disabilities” Minister of Social Services and Urban Development, the Hon. Frankie A. Campbell said.

“We also want to ensure that persons with disabilities are not disenfranchised and so in that regard, we have wheelchairs available to assist persons with disabilities; to assist with elderly persons which is in keeping with our mandate,” Minister Campbell added.

The wheelchairs Minister Campbell mentioned were provided courtesy of the Bahamas Association for the Physically Disabled (BAPD), a partner of the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development. Representatives of the non-governmental group, The Lord’s Kitchen, have also joined in the effort, partnering to provide a lunch menu for the occupants. The Lord’s Kitchen is a ministry of the Greek Orthodox Church.

 

Representatives from The Lord’s Kitchen, a ministry of the Greek Orthodox Church, have partnered with the shelter management team at the Kendal G.L. Isaacs National Gymnasium to provide a luncheon menu for occupants of the shelter. Ms. Artemis Zervos of The Lord’s Kitchen is photographed (second left) presenting a portion of the goodies to Ms. Andrea Newbold, head of the Shelter Management team. Ms. Lydia Strachan, Department of Social Services, is at far left.

 

Nurses from the Department of Public Health, Ministry of Health have established a Health Desk at the Kendal G.L. Isaacs National Gymnasium from where they have been administering health checks to the occupants, among other duties. The nurses are photographed along with the shelter management team from the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development.

 

Royal Bahamas Defence Force Petty Officer Drexel Rahming (standing) goes over security protocol with two members of the Defence Force detail assigned to strengthen the security protocol at the Kendal G.L. Isaacs National Gymnasium. Also pictured (from left) are: Leading Woman Richardson and Woman Marine Woodside.

(BIS Photo/Matt Maura)

 

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