A Special Task Force has been set up to investigate corruption at Court Shamrock, where socially-displaced people are allegedly being forced to pay money in exchange for lodging.The centre located at Rushworth Street, San Fernando, was opened in 1999 and is geared at offering rehabilitation for many homeless people who live on the streets of San Fernando.It was established by the San Fernando City Corporation.
The allegation of corruption was first raised last year by San Fernando mayor Marlene Coudray at a statutory meeting.Recent checks by the Guardian, however, revealed that at least eight people who live at Court Shamrock, continue to dish out as much as $750 monthly to get lodging. The home caters for almost 40 male street dwellers.Meanwhile, increasing numbers of homeless people are crowding the streets, many of whom are deportees from the United States.A homeless man, who was seen picking his sores on a wheelchair at Independence Avenue, said he had no chance of getting into Court Shamrock because only "paying customers" would get a chance to live there.
"They only taking in a certain group of people there," he declared before wheeling away.Another man, identified as Johnny, who spent 20 years on the streets, said an investigation must be done on Court Shamrock.Johnny, who was found sleeping in a market stall at Mucurapo Street, said he tried to get into Court Shamrock on nine occasions."Every time I go there, they tell me that they have no place for me," he said."I want to know why some people are allowed to live there for months and years and people like me who need rehabilitation and help cannot get it, even though Government is paying for it."
His wife, who also lived on the streets for a while, said she was thankful that they now had a rented apartment on Lewis Street."We suffer for a long while, but now we work in the market and we pay our rent," she said.Johnny said his father was a Norwegian national who came to Trinidad to take a training course and got involved with Johnny's mother."He left when he heard she was pregnant, so I never knew him," he said."When I was 16 years, the bank seized our house and we were thrown out on the streets. I stayed at a centre in Port- of-Spain for years.
"It was a hard life...I started doing drugs, but now I stopped," he said.Larry Hector, who was seen standing with tattered clothes at the market, said he wanted an opportunity to get off the streets. He said he got a disability grant monthly, which a business owner changes for him."I think it is unfair that they collecting money there from some people and others living for free," Hector added.He said better arrangements should be put into place for people who wanted to get off the streets.Meanwhile, one of the paying tenants at Court Shamrock, who requested anonymity, said he had no choice but to live at the home.
He explained that he spent three years sleeping on Lord Street. Although he pays monies at the centre, the resident said he did not mind because it was better than being on the streets."I want to get myself back on track and go back to the US," he said."I have to get my documents in order," he said, adding that he often did chores at the facility."I don't mind doing it...It is the least that I can do," he explained.Leslie Marshall, who confessed to having come from a very prominent family, said he spent more than five years living on the streets. He said he was deported from the US for drugs and assault.Marshall, who sat in a makeshift shack drinking bay rum, said his mother built him a home because she couldn't bear to see him on the streets.
He said he did not want to go to Court Shamrock because he heard it was "like a jail."Another resident at the home said he has been staying there for five years. He said the officials at Court Shamrock deducted money from his public assistance.In a statement last week, Minister of the People Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh said deportees from the United States were adding to a growing number of socially- displaced people were are roaming the streets of T&T.Ramadharsingh said his ministry had a number of programmes to deal with socially-displaced people.
"We ensure that they have food security and we also provide subventions to other non-governmental organisations which offer relief and a place of abode," he said.The minister said street dwelling was a multi-faceted problem which required a multi-faceted response in kind."Through the Social Displacement Unit of the ministry, we have been carrying out outreach programmes," he said. "This entails activities aimed at reaching out to socially-displaced persons on the streets and providing them with information as to what rehabilitation services and programmes are available."
He added that in September, a Task Force was set up to assess existing strategies and approaches in dealing with street dwelling. The minister said the Government, however, needed more trained and interested professionals who were willing to work with street dwellers."We need psychosocial rehabilitation for the mentally-ill population," he said."Affordable housing must be provided for the street dwellers."San Fernando mayor Marlene Coudray also said that a special committee was established to look at the homeless problems in the city."We have people doing research...We hired a security company to keep them off the main areas around the schools and we are working on a solution," she said.
She added that the issue of corruption was raised since 2010, but it was difficult to get evidence.She said the corporation would be investigating the allegations and ensuring that there was no corruption.Meanwhile, manager of Court Shamrock, Trevor Braithwaite, denied allegations that people were being charged a fee to live at Court Shamrock."That is absolutely not true...You need to understand what happens at Court Shamrock," he said."We have room at Court Shamrock and nobody is turned away."
