The Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness

ORGANISATIONAL HISTORY

The Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness (BAEH) formerly The Barbados Vagrant and Homeless Society (BVHS) was officially launched on February 20, 2010 but has been operational 2008. The organization provides food, clothing, shelter and beneficial rehabilitative homecare housing, life skills programmes for the homeless and vagrant persons across Barbados. 

BAEH is governed by a Board of Trustees and managed on a daily basis by an Executive Officer who manages the office where six (6) full- time and three (3) part- time staff are employed. The organization also has a cadre of volunteers who assists with activities in the various programmes it undertakes. 

In the past, the organization has managed several projects seeking to reintegrate persons into society and has been successful except on one occasion where one individual reverted to his life on the streets. So it is safe to say that the success rate of BAEH has been over 90% since inception.

BAEH is governed by a Board of Directors who directs the policies and procedures of the organization. The operational duties are managed by a team of professionals lead by the Executive Director. The ED is supported by an Office Manager, Finance/Accounts Officer, Special Projects Officer, Public Relations Officer and Case Manager. These positions are supported by subordinate staff.

BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION

Due to a dearth in information on the situation regarding the homeless and vagrants in the Barbadian society, the BVHS undertook its own research and has identified poverty, drugs, loss/tragedy, financial crisis, divorce, academic failure, domestic violence, deportation, migration, and mental illness as the prime causes leading to homelessness and vagrancy. Increasingly one sees individuals sleeping under cardboard boxes in the city’s alley ways and doorways of various buildings. During the day, these individuals can be seen pushing shopping carts full of debris, dressed in filthy and tattered clothing and looking rather unkempt and dirty. These persons usually do not have access to permanent facilities, if any. BVHS realizes that this can happen to anyone and has provided over 200 persons with food, clothing, job placement, education and health care support. It has been found from this small figure that through counseling and training, it is possible to reintegrate persons and empower them to become productive in society. Through implementation of this programme, BVHS will seek to reduce the number of individuals living on the streets to zero over time. 

OBJECTIVES

As part of their rehabilitation into society the participants in this programme will need assistance with food, clothing, housing, counseling for both the individual and their family members, medical services and preparation for employment where required. Homelessness can occur at any point in a person’s life and can be as a result of a myriad of reasons, in an effort to prevent re-entry into the homeless state; BVHS is proposing to undertake some preventative measures as part of the rehabilitation process. 

The BVHS has three main programmatic areas that it undertakes to ensure that rehabilitation is as successful as possible. There is the At the Crossroads Programme which seeks to encourage and motivate individuals and give them an insight into the possibilities that can exist. It is an introductory programme that provides nightly accommodation, food, clothing, medical care and counseling. The Direct Care Ministry Programme is the vehicle that BVHS utilizes to provide additional services in the form of preparation for employment, assistance with accommodation needs, a mentorship programme and employment opportunities through partnership with stakeholders in the private sector. The final programme, the Life Opportunity Superseding Tomorrow provides feeding, clothing, counseling and medical care for those individuals who are not yet in either of the other two programmes. It is expected that more than 1,500 persons in total will benefit each year from the efforts of these three programmes. 

The success of these objectives will be determined by the graduation’ of 100% of participants from the programme.

Nature Fun Ranch (NFR) is a nature based youth development programme managed by youth. 

A registered charity, NFR was founded in 1999 by five Barbadian community minded teenagers who decided to use their creativity to develop a positive alternative to the negative lifestyles that plagued their local community. NFR provides a safe environment that fosters holistic positive psychosocial development of its members through its long-term outdoor, unorthodox, educational, equestrian and fun filled programme located in Bruce Vale, St Andrew.  

The programme seeks to give at-risk youth an opportunity to explore their strengths and prove their worth to a society that may view them as everything other than productive citizens. NFR programming takes a comprehensive systems approach to dealing with its diverse target group. Trained staff and peer mentors work in unison with NFR members and their families to understand the root causes of nonconforming behaviours while providing the necessary support for positive behaviour change. In so doing, it provides an invaluable asset to Barbados by benefiting the highly vulnerable and disenfranchised section the society.  

Mission  

To break the culture of negativity by engaging youth in active, fun-filled sustainable lifestyles, in order to cultivate positive and productive social attitudes. “Bringing out the positive charge in youth”.  Vision  To develop a youth membership base of outstanding individuals, supported by world-class recreational outdoor nature facilities, which promote positive and healthy lifestyles and engender positive social development.  Why do the NFR Programmes work?  Once connected with nature at the ranch, NFR members experience a desperately needed sense of belonging to something much greater than themselves and even their community. 

NFR management body consists of trained Social Workers and Counselors who would have lived, experienced and worked in communities similar to where most members originate. This experience offers a great sense of knowledge, empathy and understanding of the background of members.  The unconventional approach to behavioural change is what compliments the core functions NFR and contributes to its success. NFR also assists where necessary members in areas of discreet financial assistance and obtaining citizenship documentation. 

Skills gained at NFR are a unique selling point for at-risk youth who may otherwise have faced very gloomy career prospects.  The success of Nature Fun Ranch over the years to maintain the interest and its membership has been because from the inception each member was encouraged to contribute new ideas and think outside of the box. The theory behind this is that youth are easily bored and when suggesting things to do they think very limited and have very little faith in great activities actually coming off. Our mission from the beginning was to break that culture of thinking. On the membership form 1999, each member had to rate each proposed activity and existing section and suggest new ideas.  Everything and each decision is made on consensus and the management of the group is the youth themselves.

 Contact Centre 

Contact us: +1 (246) 572-4774 OR 851-1637

 Write us: nfrbarbados@gmail.com 

Address ; -Nature Fun Ranch Bruce Vale, St. Andrew Barbados