Skerrit Says Homeless People & Vagrants Have Rights and Shouldn’t Be Locked Up

PM Roosevelt Skerrit has made it clear that vagrants and other homeless people in Dominica have fundamental rights and should not be locked up for roaming the streets. He said that Constitution protects the rights of homeless people, and that many are roaming the streets as a result of drug abuse or some other psychological maladies.

“It should not be about just locking them up,” Skerrit stated. “I am not going to be involved in locking up human-beings like this; this could be any one of us [or our] brother or sister walking the streets. We have to understand that these people would have found themselves in difficulties, whether is by the use of drugs or some psychological depression…”

While the prime minister agreed that the problem of homelessness has been a long-standing one, he noted that it is a societal issue and that everyone must rise up to put up structures for rehabilitating homeless folks. He said it should not be left alone to the government to shoulder. However, he pointed out that his government will be setting up a stakeholders’ forum that will comprise of public and private individuals to look into the matter.

As the Minister of Finance, Skerrit said he will be releasing some funds to facilitate the medical and social rehabilitation of vagrants in Dominica. He said the government will “have to revisit and to provide better for the welfare of these people” and that members of the public must show empathy and kindness to homeless people.

The DLP leader emphasized the fact that homelessness must be tackled from a humanitarian point of view, and urged people to provide the necessary family support to vagrants so that they could be fully rehabilitated and reintegrated into the society.

Meanwhile, a clergy, Pastor Jack Latham, disclosed during a radio talk show on Sunday that his charity team will be providing for the needs of the homeless and the poor during the upcoming Christmas. He said his team will provide basic services that include free haircuts, food, clothes, and other items to poor folks. He said the ultimate objective is to make this coming Christmas a memorable experience for everyone regardless of their socio-economic status in society.

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