MP Seeks Solutions For Homeless Gay Youth In New Kingston

It was bad enough that the displaced and homeless MSM/Transgender populations were left out of most of the homelessness week awareness activities as outlined in a previous post (Homelessness Awareness Week May 10 - 16 activities overlooks LGBT populations?) now we hear of more promises from politicians. It is not the first time we have heard concerns only when the populations are visible as they are again with recent police interactions (yet again), solutions are proffered and then silence. Yawning still at the usual academisation of the situation here comes another announcement which politicians are so good at. 

The we have so many 'solutions' filed away in some filing cabinet after bragging rights on stake holder meetings to numerous to count yet no implementation, state and non state actors are good at that but the actual work is yet to materialise.

Remember this previous report by JFLAG?: (re)Presenting and Redressing LGBT Homelessness in Jamaica: Towards a Multifaceted Approach to Addressing Anti-Gay Related Displacement

Then the JFLAG townhall meeting fiasco in 2012 when we were presented with this document above in part yet the announcement for a shelter was most premature as the negotiations were non concluded and the identified property's manager feared reprisals if it were discovered.

I will believe it when it happens and yet another report comes which looks so similar to the previous ones and that of the scrapped Safe House Project 2007/8/9 that some of the very men were in and JFLAG basically abandoned them with the excuse that their bad behaviour was the reason when the pilot project ended before its run, they do not want to get their hands dirty and walk with the population hand in hand really and expect others to do that, then to turn around and act as if they care as homelessness is not their role it may seem as the elites literally are contemptuous of the group. Remember the IDAHO event where JFLAG left out the very homeless when the subject was on homelessness? see: JFLAG EXCLUDES HOMELESS MSM FROM IDAHO SYMPOSIUM 2013

remember this from 2014?: MP Julian Robinson claims he wants help for New Kingston homeless gays

The Gleaner carried this some days ago, I have included the report mentioned for download HERE

David Fitton (right), British high commissioner to Jamaica, looks at the Peace Management Initiative (PMI) Report on Homeless Youth with Julian Robinson (left), member of parliament for South East St Andrew; Julia Sutherland, deputy British high commissioner, and Damian Hutchinson, executive director of the PMI, at the high commission's presentation of the report at the British High Commission in New Kingston.

Member of parliament for South East St Andrew, Julian Robinson, has, through his role as a member of the board of the Peace Management Initiative (PMI), moved to provide intervention for a group of high-risk homeless youth who were accused of carrying out robberies and incidents of public disorder in the New Kingston environs.

The nature and outcomes of those interventions have been chronicled in a report released in collaboration with the British High Commission.

Speaking at the launch of the report, Robinson noted that he has been working with a number of partners to address the issues facing the group.

A Different Approach

"Over the past three years, (sorry Mr Robinson this problem is much older than that) we have grappled with the issue of a group of homeless young gay men who have taken residence in particular areas throughout the constituency ... but the reason I got to the point where I felt there had to be a different type of intervention is because the definition of madness is doing the same thing repeatedly expecting a different result," he said.

Robinson indicated that he approached the PMI to address the issues facing the group given that efforts to remove them from the Shoemaker Gully have produced little result because they merely relocate to other areas in his constituency.

"I felt it was important to have a formal intervention and to document some of the challenges, we know the challenges anecdotally but we have not had the kind of intervention that the PMI has formally done," he said.

While indicating that the intervention has gone well, Robinson said it has not yet solved the problem.

"We need continuous interventions for this group because it is a unique group. There are a number of unique characteristics of this group which require unique intervention beyond the typical homeless population and even beyond what is done for the LGBT population," he added.

Robinson outlined that the issue of shelter remains a challenge that he intends to tackle.

Human-rights lobbyist Yvonne McCalla Sobers (photo sharing items with the men in 2014), who was also present at the launch of the report, indicated that plans exist to build a shelter, to be called the Larry Chang Centre, but that land needs to be provided to begin the construction.

Robinson said that the report is intended to shed light on the issues facing the group and to seek solutions.

"This, I hope, will be the beginning of a broader dialogue on this issue where we can bring in other stakeholders to the table so that we can find a lasting solution," he said

ENDS

 please see the PMI and Superintendent Murdock on CVM TV's Live @ 7 on May 21, I have to agree with Simon Crosskill its host the report seems minuscule and designed to impress the funders more than real solutions, click HERE

Dwayne's House logo

What about the Dwayne House idea as seen above at the board meeting recently with Mr Robinson and others in 2013? their Facebook page seems dormant as one of their last entries suggest:

also see: Some good news on the homeless MSM front ..... guarded & waiting part 2: Dwayne's House Project


New Kingston Cop Proposes Shelter for Shoemaker MSM/Trans homeless persons

MP Julian Robinson claims he wants help for New Kingston homeless gays 2013

And we continue to reap the world-wind for not addressing homelessness when it was manageable 2013

The toss up between MSM homelessness & public order makes news again

then there are the previous comments on camera by the goodly MP in February 2013:

I still say government have to provide the framework and let LGBT advocacies handle the transitional components as there are sensitivities that their systems cannot handle. Just take a look at at state run agencies and the challenges then how then this speciality group will be treated? Here is an old podcast I had done on my suggestion and concerns:

I am deeply disappointed at the state and non state actors as on this seedy issue of homelessness and as the main-streaming of advocacy continues the grassroots segment of the struggle and the representative populations get left behind or abandoned.

Sadly designated sites (167 King Street) for general homeless assistance still remain unused since as evidenced above they were launched by a JLP government so continuity is not the name of the game for the benefit of the least amongst us.

see: Street MSM Stone J-FLAG – After Being Cleared From Gov’t Property, Homosexuals Launch Assault another such clash occurred earlier this year in January which forced JFLAG to vacate yet another office space.

meanwhile JFLAG says it is happy with the study (not surprised), video from Loop Jamaica:

Hope remains while company is true as there are some who are still concerned.

Peace and tolerance

H

Also see:

the CVM NEWS Story HERE on the eviction/raid taken by the police

Housing Minister seeks funds for Shelter from NHT Money ....... Will the LGBT Homeless be Assisted?

also see a flashback to some of the troubling issues with the populations and the descending relationships between JASL, JFLAG and the displaced/homeless GBT mostly youth in New Kingston: Rowdy Gays Strike - J-FLAG Abandons Raucous Homosexuals Misbehaving In New Kingston

Why did CVCC & JFJ not Fund a Project/Home for Homeless LGBT Youth in New Kingston instead of the Children’s Home Fiasco that now obtains?

from 2012: Homeless impatient with agencies over slow progress of promised shelter and THE PROBLEMATIC “BATTYMAN ENTITLEMENT” PHENOM, HOMELESSNESS & LGBT SAFE SPACES

JFLAG has no moral authority to speak on homeless gay men in New Kingston says members of the public. 2014

Tense stand-off between homeless MSM and Security team in New Kingston

'Don't come back here' - Maxfield residents warn gay man after publicized eviction

More forced evictions reported for 2013

And MSM continue to be ready material for data collection ..... what about the interventions

Shelter Coming For Homeless Gays reports the Gleaner

Children’s Advocacy & LGBT Agencies inconsistent approach to Homeless MSM Youth

also see all the posts in chronological order by date from Gay Jamaica Watch HERE and GLBTQ Jamaica HERE

GLBTQJA (Blogger): HERE

see previous entries on LGBT Homelessness from the Wordpress Blog HERE



The Quietus ......... The Safe House Project Closes

Homeless MSM to feel the pinch as JASL issues ultimatum (where it all began to go downhill in 2008/9) 

meanwhile more audio commentary flashback and weigh-ins, Christopher Daley host on The Ends on Nationwide had a lot to say on the issue in 2013:

Notice also the numbers of persons engaged in the supposed PMI engagement is missing so is it another case of selecting the good behaving persons and leaving out the others? 

Sigh

Here we go again.

Funds Dry Up For Local Human-Rights Lobbies

Says the headline in today's Gleaner, some of us like smaller lesser known entities like GLBTQ Jamaica or Aphrodite's P.R.I.D.E Jamaica rely on individual donations from readers or funding from the FCO as was the case with the APJ Enterprise Training Project activities. There maybe some local donations by kind individuals via cheque or even cash as well especially for special requests for crisis interventions but those are drying up as hard times or belt tightening becomes more the norm.

I am wondering what is the purpose of this article though as there have been some push-back on human rights groups especially since the JFJ sex ed fiasco of so called foreign imposition of values via money and funding by some of the same persons ironically named in the piece below such as Betty Ann Blaine and even the acting public defender hinted to it HERE. Then there is the mischief making by first time MP Damion Crawford (same one who belittled Portia's Buggery Review/Conscience Vote suggestion) and his take on rights organizations and agendas.

Now to the story:

The reluctance of one local human-rights lobby to push the agenda of overseas backers has resulted in the curtailing of its operations, and the futures of similar organisations are in jeopardy as the ability to secure international funding to fight for citizens' rights has become increasingly difficult.

Yvonne McCalla-Sobers, who chairs advocacy group Families Against State Terrorism (FAST), told The Sunday Gleaner that the non-government organisation (NGO) has been unable to fulfil its mandate in recent times because of a lack of funding.

The group was started in 2001 following the alleged extrajudicial killing of two citizens by police in separate incidents.

"It was supposed to seek justice for family members who have been killed by the police or suffered in some way from the State," McCalla-Sobers said.

But McCalla-Sobers noted that apart from the fact that the families they represent had started to become weary of delayed justice for their relatives, "there is also the issue that where you get your funding sometimes can dictate what you do or don't do".

She noted that, at times, advocacy groups such as FAST were being asked to make compromises in order to secure funding.

She said that in the beginning, her group was primarily getting funding from Jamaicans within the diaspora but, following the recession, it was necessary to seek funding from international agencies primarily based in the United Kingdom (UK).

"The compromise would have been in, let us say, other persons far away deciding on the action that should be taken here," said McCalla-Sobers, who did not want to elaborate on the types of compromises her group was being required to make.

"The requests were nothing that would have been unethical, but it's just not in the direction that we saw the need here," she quickly pointed out.

Last week, Opposition Leader Andrew Holness called for the establishment of a commission of human rights to assist in safeguarding the rights of citizens.

His call came following the killing of construction worker Mario Deane, who died on Independence Day as a result of injuries sustained while at the Barnett Street Police Station in St James.

STRENGTHEN EXISTING INSTITUTIONS

However, legal luminary and former chairman of the Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights (IJCHR), Dr Lloyd Barnett, believes the focus ought to be on strengthening existing human-rights institutions rather than creating a new one.

"I would like to see what it is that he is proposing because we sometimes react to problems by creating new posts rather than strengthening existing posts, and you get a multiplicity of positions, each underfunded and inadequate for the task," he said.

Much like FAST, he said the IJCHR is currently challenged to carry out projects because of a lack of funding. He said the council's last major project for which it received funding dates back to two years ago.

Most of the IJCHR's focus now, he said, is on education rather than advocacy, which can be very expensive.

"In order to conduct a human-rights advocacy or human-rights programme, money is needed, both for staff and material. You have to provide staff to interview people to receive their complaints … . That requires money. You have to pay rent, pay telephone bills, pay for all the normal things that you require to run an office and to provide a service. In addition to that, you would have to carry out investigations or to employ persons to advise on technical matters," he said.

Barnett said that although in the past the group got funding from a number of agencies, including USAID and the Commonwealth Secretariat, today, "a lot of the funding is based upon specific programmes".

Last year, parliamentarian Raymond Pryce suggested that it be made mandatory for interest groups to disclose their sources of funding and publish their financials.

He told The Sunday Gleaner that while these organisations help to keep democracy robust, "many times, they can receive funds in a subversive way that has hidden agendas, and many times those sources of funds come from agencies that are inimical to the way of life of the wider society".

Checks made by The Sunday Gleaner with at least 10 of the country's more prominent interest groups showed that while several were 100 per cent locally funded, there were many others that received the majority of or all their funding from overseas.

J-FLAG LOOKS TO US, UK

"We have to apply for grants much like any other NGOs and they are largely out of the United States and we have one donor in the UK," said Dane Lewis, executive director of the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG).

The group's donors are listed on its website and include organisations such as Freedom House, Frontline Defenders, the Mac AIDS Fund, and Open Society Foundation.

Funding for the organisation primarily comes from overseas, and much of it is used for public education, Lewis said.

Lobbies such as Citizens Action for Principles and Integrity (CAPI), the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET) and National Integrity Action (NIA) are among those that receive both local and international funding.

Co-convenor for CAPI, Dennis Meadows, said while the group's four executive members are the ones primarily financing its advocacy work, persons locally and overseas have been making donations through the group's website.

He said his organisation was a virtual one and membership at last check stood at around 4,500 persons, with donations from the diaspora amounting to no more than US$1,000 per year.

"From a NGO standpoint, you have to build a foundation before you can seek to approach international agencies," he said when quizzed about his funding sources.

Diana McCaulay, JET's chief executive officer, said her organisation receives grant funding from overseas, but the work it does is also possible due to the help of local sponsors and membership fees.

The 24-year-old organisation currently has about 400-500 individuals on its mailing list and, of this number, about 200 persons pay fees annually.

MAINLY LOCAL FUNDING

"There have been years where we have had larger foreign amounts, and then that year, it would look like the foreign donation was greater, but if you look the whole of JET's life, I would say local funding is, by far, the majority," she said.

Professor Trevor Munroe, executive director of the NIA, said his group was primarily funded by USAID and the Department for International Development, but gets technical support from the Jamaica Civil Society Coalition and Flow.

Flow has, for example, given NIA free cable advertisement space valued at more than $2 million per month.

"They provide funds, but we are the persons who decide how those funds are utilised. They don't tell us," said Munroe in regard to NIA's international partners.

The groups that rely primarily on local funders include Hear the Children's Cry, the Lawyers Christian Fellowship and the recently convened Churches Action Uniting Society for Emancipation (CAUSE).

Co-founder of Hear the Children's Cry, Betty Ann Blaine, said the group was heavily reliant on charitable donations and grant funding from the private sector to carry out its work.

"We operate on a very small budget. Our budget is not more than $2 million per year," she asserted. "We have no overseas funding. All of our funding, right now, is from within Jamaica."

She lamented the fact that several NGOs have been forced to close their doors in recent times because of the inability to secure funding.

ENDS

Why did the author not get more information from JCHS, LCF or Jamaica CAUSE on their budgets or funding sources? I find it a bit strange as they have or seem to have millions at their disposal with all the full paged ads they have managed to put out in the same paper that can sometimes run into millions of dollars literally dependent on the day in question they are published. The paraphernalia as well in their Bain protests does not come cheap either and therefore must be coming from another source of funding, I say foreign ones that were not disclosed. I has well been established that homophobic or anti gay groups outside the US and as far as Africa such as Uganda have all benefited from funding from US based religious linked groups and personalities who cannot do their hate in the US so they export it.

Yet we are to believe that these groups are so lowly they only receive local funding!?

Did the author or editor of the Gleaner did not want to ruffle the feathers of their largest customer with their full paged ads so no pressure or questions were brought to bear as to the real state of affairs of their funding? given that one of the criticisms towards gay activism is so called imposed values and beliefs funded by foreigners yet we see the very same strategy in their camp and when such overseas funding for LGBT groups do not come easy as one has to prove and write proposals etc. if it were so easy as I wish it was groups like mine and others would have been fat with cash and able to do far more work than how snails pace we are.

Anyway I still want to encourage you my readers to continue your support as it is crucial for smaller frontline groups and individuals like me. Donations are accepted via Paypal securely where the donations buttons are located or

Tel: 1-876-813-4942 if any difficulties or email: lgbtevent@gmail.com

Thank You

Peace and tolerance 

H

Youth Minister Lisa Hanna's conflation of same gender sex & abuse responded to part 2

see part 1 HERE and also the suck up by a JFLAG representative (also CARIFLAGS) Brian Paul Welsh, I am so disappointed but not surprised the elistist tone is clear and is a main reason why we haven't moved much on LGBT rights in Jamaica. If you have the time and stomach see: Don't fault Hanna for tell-all on Alpha

Now to Miss Sobers and more sensible commentary:

Yvonne McCalla Sobers, Guest Columnist

Youth Minister Lisa Hanna is to be commended on her ministry's plan to serve vulnerable, destitute, and homeless youth. She recently announced plans specifically targeting youth rejected by their families and communities because they are seen as gay, lesbian, or transgender.

It would, therefore, be in the minister's interest to be seen as credible and sensitive when speaks about sex and sexuality.

However, her recent explanation for the closure of the Alpha Boys' Home shows that the minister may not be well advised on how to address sexual abuse without putting victims of sexual abuse in harm's way.

Questions could be asked about Minister Hanna's motive in disclosing that youth at Alpha Boys' Home were sexual predators. What did she expect the public to do with this information? How did she expect the Sisters of Mercy to respond to the disclosure? What did she expect her ministry to do with this information? Considering that the home has been an incubator for outstanding Jamaican musicians, what suggestions did she put forward for keeping the home open despite its problems?

The minister could perhaps be considered a whistle-blower in this situation. However, whistle-blowers are usually insiders who reveal misconduct, hoping that they will shame authorities into correcting the wrongdoing. So, the minister was conceivably blowing the whistle on herself, as she is the person with authority to protect boys in state homes from sexual predators.

The shock value of Minister Hanna's disclosure was predictable. Sexual misconduct, especially between male minors, is bound to create outrage in a culture where persons have been attacked and killed because of their sexual orientation. It was also foreseeable that suspicion of being sexual predators or targets of sexual predators would fall on past and present residents of Alpha Boys' Home.

The minister claims truth as a defence for revealing sexual misconduct in the home. However, court cases involving minors are held behind closed doors because some 'truths' can cause a child lifetime harm. It is time enough to go public when reports have been investigated, allegations have been tested, and adult perpetrators have been convicted.

NEGATIVE EFFECT

The Sisters of Mercy say the minister's whistle-blowing has so far had negative effect. They say the public has responded by labelling the boys as homosexuals, stoning a branded Alpha Boys' Home bus, and confronting teachers on the streets. In addition, a highly questionable newspaper cartoon depicted the rape of a minor in the home.

The impact of 'outing' these youth goes well beyond generating media headlines and social media chat. The minister will hopefully reflect on how to protect youth labelled as deviants as they leave the home to enter a society that is hostile towards them.

She needs to understand that her statement is likely to close options for youth who may have no shelter options when the home closes. They will risk being further schooled in antisocial survival strategies by others who have similarly been rejected by families, communities, and society as a whole. The social cost of the minister's 'outing' of alleged youth predators is worth calculating.

Minister Hanna's statement may, however, have had one positive effect: opening up a taboo topic to public discussion. Attorney-at-law Jacqueline Samuels-Brown has exposed systemic violation of boys in Alpha Boys' Home. The attorney wisely focused on cause (employees and other adults abusing power) rather than effect (youth acting out sexual abuse inflicted by adults). This adult sexual abuse was described as long-term and perhaps extensive.

If Mrs Samuels-Brown's sources are correct, Minister Hanna has a busy time ahead carrying out her ministry's mandate. The minister might, therefore, be wise to confine her media statements to steps taken or about to be taken to solve problems related to abuse of children in care.

PROBLEM-SOLVING APPROACH

A problem-solving approach could produce positive results. Minister Hanna could consider developing protocols for detecting and reporting grooming and suspected sexual abuse of children in care; taking steps to minimise sexual abuse of these children; and providing counselling and mental health care for children who have been sexually abused or show signs of becoming sexual predators.

Most of all, the public should hear from the minister the steps she is taking to investigate the allegation of systematic abuse by those entrusted with the care and protection of boys at Alpha Boys' Home. Adult sexual predators need to be identified and prosecuted.

Solutions might then point to possibilities of keeping open this 135-year-old shelter for troubled youth. The minister might also use her influence to persuade parents, as a whole, to keep under-18 boys at home, no matter their supposed or actual sexual orientation. Most of all, the minister could speed up provision of services to prevent newly homeless youth from joining the ranks of veteran homeless youth in parks, gullies, and abandoned buildings.

It is not enough for Minister Hanna to claim to have spoken the truth about Alpha Boys' Home. She has the authority to address the implications of the sexual abuse that allegedly contributed to the closure of the home.

She, therefore, urgently needs to begin the process of controlling damage not to her image, but to the lives of youth who are due to vacate the home shortly. Most important, Minister Hanna's words and actions need to point towards helping troubled youth to achieve their potential in a safe space.

Yvonne McCalla Sobers is a human rights campaigner and convenor of Families Against State Terrorism. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and sobersy@yahoo.com.

Christian group visits homeless MSM/Trans in New Kingston

This account is from Jamaican activist Yvonne McCalla-Sobers, who is chair ofDwayne’s House, the initiative seeking to provide a home for LGBT youths:

Church group visits homeless LGBT youth in Jamaica’s sewers: Love ensues

Church group visits and sings with homeless LGBT youths at the sewers where they live. (Photo courtesy of Yvonne McCalla-Sobers)

The Rev. Margaret Fowler, a United Church minister and member of the Board of Directors of Dwayne’s House, is a serious advocate for a change in the overall approach of the Jamaican church towards issues of sexual orientation. So, on Thursday night, March 13, she arranged for a group of Christians to visit the homeless LGBT youth who are living in the sewers of Kingston.

The group, which included persons from across the Caribbean, was attending a regional conference on human trafficking,

Rev. Fowler was heartened that the conference organisers readily agreed to allow the visit to the youth. However, she then wondered how many of the church persons would want to come on the visit, given all the negative stereotypes spread about the youth in the media. The visit would also have to occur late in the night after a very full day of meetings. Members of the group would have therefore been exhausted.

However, at 10:00 p.m. when the bus arrived there were hardly enough seats, as so many persons showed up! The bus was completely packed for the short ride from the hotel in New Kingston to the sewers where the youngsters live.
Rev. Fowler was overwhelmed with the turnout and briefed the group on what to expect, such as males dressed in female attire. She also told them that if they missed the bus coming back, they would have to disclose their earnings from sex work the next morning!

I had prepared the youth for the visit, and they were keen enough to have our liaison, Tyrone, call me a couple of times between 9:30 and 10 pm to check on whether the group was still coming, and on whether I would be accompanying the visitors. The youth were anxiously waiting for us when we arrived.

I had thought about calling Commander Murdock of the New Kingston police post to let him know about the meeting, and decided against it because we were not asking police permission to meet. Further, I did not anticipate any incident that would require police intervention. There was a concern that public anger about the murder conviction of popular reggae singer, Vbyz Kartel, that was handed down earlier in the day might have overflowed on the streets last night. However, a police officer had assured the group that New Kingston would not be affected by any Kartel protest.

So, there we were. The church group was largely female, and Rev. Fowler assured the men that they would be safe from the youth, but if they encountered any harassment, the women would protect them!

Homeless LGBT youths were touched by the visit. (Photo courtesy of Yvonne McCalla-Sobers)

The interaction and exchange amazed and humbled me. The churchpersons came with love, respect, and acceptance, and the youth reciprocated. Rev. Fowler started out with some Christian choruses, and our youth sang along with energy that showed how familiar they were with church activity. They also started singing some choruses of their own and the group of visitors joined in.

A member of the church group gave the youth some words of encouragement, based on the Biblical story of the woman at the well. The theme was no condemnation, and freedom to choose. Rev. Fowler ended the evening with a prayer, and the group left behind care packages with toiletries and packages with drink and snacks for the youth.

The behaviour of the youngsters was exemplary. There was hardly a murmur during the meeting, let alone side conversations or any form of distraction. They were focused. During the visit, there were points of engagement and exchanges, such as holding hands and speaking words of love and acknowledgement.

There was brief feedback from the church group on the brief bus ride back to the hotel. One person, a Cuban, openly cried to see the conditions under which our youth exist. Rev. Fowler will have more information on feedback from the group, but she thought the visit had humanised the youth in the eyes of the church group.

The feedback from the youth has been a request for Rev. Fowler to return on the last Sunday of each month. Tyrone told me that the youth said they would like to go to church, but they feel embarrassed when they go. They felt that, after they saw more of Rev. Fowler on their turf, they may feel prepared to visit her church.

My heart is full!

See the Web page of Dwayne’s House for more information or to contribute (in the United States or in Canada). (originally posted on 76crimes)

also see: Young MSM/Transgender want to be treated as citizens not potential HIV/AIDS victims

Homeless MSM/Trans youth draw attention in New Kingston

New Kingston homeless MSM raided again by police

I thought we were told a few months ago that the police and the whole relationship in New Kingston's business district and the homeless MSM would improve somewhat by the Chairman of the Dwayne's House (announced shelter response) Ms Yvonne McCallah Sobers who is also convenor of Families Against State Terrorism, FAST where a Facebook release read in part in February:

"At the same time, it is possible that the absence of negative publicity in the media might be due to a relationship we have developed with Commander Murdock who is in charge of the New Kingston police station. Tyrone, the DH liaison person with the youth, is regularly in touch with Commander Murdock, and Tyrone and I meet with him periodically."

This was in response to the previous raid and news coverage on Television Jamaica, TVJ all of this happening as the numbers continues to increase and others move northwards and to other parishes including my home parish St Catherine. Now another raid has occurred and spoken of as excerpted below:

Jamaican police tried again last week to evict homeless LGBT youth from the sewers in New Kingston where they have been forced to take refuge.

In a day-time raid on Ash Wednesday March 5, (ironically, a religious holiday marking the beginning of the Christian sacrificial season of Lent) officers from the New Kingston police post swooped down on the gutters running beneath the commercial district and demanded that the several youth who lived there had to leave immediately. The youngsters were understandably upset and some put up quite a struggle as they literally have no where else to go. Police had already chased them from every abandoned building they previously occupied and the buildings were then torn down.

The kids are afraid of going to the few government shelters because of the abuse they experience there.

Some of the youth were arrested for resisting their forcible eviction. They were also charged with using swear words (still an offence under Jamaican law).

When the youngsters were brought before the court on Friday, March 7, the judge fined them for the so-called "calumnious language" but also advised the police that the sewers are a public space. Hence the youngsters have every right to be there. With no other options, the kids have simply returned to living in the sewers.

Dwayne's House paid the small fines for some of the arrested youth. See information about Dwayne's House in this link: www.dwayneshouse.info 

ENDS

As for the fund raising efforts for DH there is not a full report as to how much has been raised seeing it has been highly publicised also see my previous entry on the shelter update HERE as you know my stance on this matter all this could have been avoided in some sense as pro-active persons who wanted to act to address this homelessness monster from as early as 2007 were basically prevented from doing so and now some of the same LGBT voices and privileged folks pushing this new thrust were never interested then to address it but instead were more interested in more public relations and "advocacy" but who cared about the least amongst us?

As for government shelters mentioned above the previous Jamaica Labour Party, JLP administration had designated the old health centre on Upper King Street nearing the York Park fire station as a future shelter but is still unoccupied, I took some photos recently of the building now over grown with shrubbery and used by animals from nearby Flethcer's Land and possibly other persons as a garbage dump. 

As I blogged a few weeks ago if the local authorities aren't moving on mainstream homeless issues and the current austerity measures in effect (IMF), political sensitivities and so on they are not at this time going to move towards providing shelters for special groups, let us take into account the daily Justice Square situation down town by the Supreme Court where legal luminaries go for high profile cases including certain LGBT folks recently yet just outside the very walls of justice the homeless are there for all to see:

And even as this post was prepared I ended a telephone conversation with a possibly short term residency with an old friend for a lesbian sister who was kicked out by her family last year November, SGL ladies are also feeling the pinch, such community shelter assistance options are becoming few and far in between as bad experiences had by some (my July 2013 experience comes to mind) but we have to keep trying.

A proper transitional facility is urgently needed not some half way house and should have been in place especially since the thrust for rights and recognition is very public with a face or faces to it; the obvious fallout should have been prepared for but so much for pro-activity. The ongoing Enterprise Training by Aphrodite's PRIDE Jamaica and allies for same gender loving women, transgender and former displaced MSM is helping a few but not nearly enough as it ought to as funding is limited and the idea has not gotten the full support by more powerful advocates as they have no part in it in the first place, a problem that has affected interventions for years wherein said powerful folks once they are not benefiting (especially financially) in some way from those activities they do not participate or volunteer their expertise or time but are quite to jump on the public relations band wagon while the real front line work for meaningful improvement for those affected by homo-negativity are for "lessers" in the scheme of things. A noted Jamaican attorney made note of the Imperialistic nature of Jamaican LGBT advocacy recently posted on this blog: New Imperialists in Pink, big fish and likkle fish I guess.

The subtle dishonesty continues in the coverage of this matter by those behind the 76 crimes especially in their latest post: Judge rules for LGBT youths living in Jamaican sewers my comment under that entry was "the ones that are living in the gully were NOT the same set that was chased from the Millsborough house (video) that was demolished in fact those fellas were some of the residents of the previous Safe House Pilot 2009 that was closed by JASL's board your friend Maurice included) and they were put out to pasture but honesty in all this is far from coming through"

the previous Jamaica AIDS Support for Life office site (Upper Musgrave Avenue) where the Safe House pilot sat and was closed: Homeless MSM to feel the pinch as JASL issues ultimatum December 2009 where it all started downhill. 

The gully just a year and a half ago prior to the men moving in, also see: Star News sensationalizes male commercial sex worker issues .............

and: The Quietus ……… The Safe House Project Closes (February 6. 2010)

Then came another nicely worded piece by the lawyer Maurice Tomlinson on the backdrop of HIV vulnerability where it read: "Jamaica's rigid historical class structure, based on the concept of "field slave" vs. "house slave" is alive and well. Sadly, the modern "house slaves" can't seem to get that the violent clashes which marked our troubled slavery past are once again on our doorsteps. This time, the revolts take the form of visible physical violence and property crimes as well as the invisible threat of HIV."

Take note of my own house slave etc. inference above intellectual dishonesty is one of the reasons why we have not been able to gain much acceptance as well in Jamaica as same has been employed every now and again in the narrative in the name of seeking rights.

Peace and tolerance

H

also see:

The toss up between MSM homelessness & public order makes news again 

Shelter Coming For Homeless Gays reports the Gleaner

Kingston’s Homeless MSM challenges scream for proper attention

Unruly gays worry store owners ...........................

Homeless MSM in New Kingston arrested in raid for stolen goods

'Don't come back here' - Maxfield residents warn gay man after publicized eviction

The Safe House Background
Homeless impatient with agencies over slow progress of promised shelter

Dwayne's House Shelter Update ....................

The latest documentary type coverage on the issue in New Kingston go HERE
 .................. take note no mention of Dwayne's House or JFLAG for that matter.

The gully before the population numbers exploded
and the subsequent fallout where it is now fenced 

The present situation in New Kingston

The now demolished previous Safe House site.Jamaica AIDS Support for Life Office
where that shelter response was abandoned under dubious circumstances,
an icon gone, see Homeless MSM to feel the pinch as JASL issues ultimatum (where it all began to go downhill) 

On Monday, Feb. 3, 2014 Yvonne McCalla Sobers of Families Against State Terrorism, Chair of Dwayne's House, provided this update on the challenges facing the homeless youth in the gully nearing the Scotiabank Building; it is not a sewer in the true sense of the word by local standards as been marketed by some as it serves as rain runoff from the Golden Triangle upscale neighbourhood but if that works to get the foreign interest transfixed so be it.

"The youth are still in the gully [sewers], and the numbers have increased significantly since [the last 2 months]. The upper figure of 15 (and often 10 or 12) has now risen to about 25 with new persons joining the group all the time. The most recent is a minor of 16 whose mother stopped feeding or supporting him when the police called her to the police station after detaining her son in a group of the New Kingston homeless gay youth who were held and released within a short while. The police are bound by law to contact the parents of minors who seem at-risk. However, the result of the police intervention is that this minor is now truly adrift. One of the clergypersons in our network is trying to intervene with this young man's mother to see if she will re-admit him to his home.

meeting with the Member of Parliament for the area where the homeless LGBT youth now "live," Julian Robinson, as well as some concerned clergy - Rev. Sean Major-Campbell (Christchurch Anglican), Rev Astor Carlyle (Webster’s Memorial United), and Rev Margaret Fowler (Hope United). The meeting was called to discuss shelter options for the youngsters (taken from Maurice Tomlinson's FB profile)

With respect to the clergy, a meeting is planned for February 7, and we hope to see what kind of tangible help can be provided for these youth - most of all a shelter, but also attention to the psycho-social, educational, and material needs. Many of them are calling for training and employment, for which a fixed address would be helpful. .

Their circumstances continue to be desperate. Apart from the pressing need for shelter, there are also medical and dental concerns. The first group of four went for their medical checkups today [Monday, Feb. 3], where they will see a doctor who supports the Dwayne's House agenda. He will see them in groups of four every Monday as long as necessary. The current challenge is finding a dentist who will provide a similar service: examination and treatment pro bono or heavily discounted.

At the same time, it is possible that the absence of negative publicity in the media might be due to a relationship we have developed with Commander Murdock who is in charge of the New Kingston police station. Tyrone, the DH liaison person with the youth, is regularly in touch with Commander Murdock, and Tyrone and I meet with him periodically.

Our registration documents were finally accepted last week, after about six weeks of bureaucratic roadblocks. We will therefore step up our fundraising efforts shortly.

I thought the story ended when the youth were transported to the doctor, but there was more drama to come.

Tyrone didn't have the number of the taximan who took the group to the doctor, so he just called back On Time taxi company when the group was to return to New Kingston. However, three On Time taxis came in response to Tyrone's calls, and ALL REFUSED to take the group. I then called On Time and the dispatcher could give no reason why the taxis would not transport our youth. She promised to send a taxi to take the youth to New Kingston, but about fifteen minutes later, no On Time taxi had arrived, and none ever did.
The f
So I called Safe Travel [another cab company], said specifically that the taxi driver was to look out for three youth waiting at the hospital gate. I also gave the dispatcher Tyrone's phone number. I confirmed the fare with the dispatcher: JA$500 [about US$5]. When I called Tyrone to see if the taxi had arrived, he told me the taxi driver had called and he was two minutes away.

Then Tyrone called me urgently to let me know the taxi driver said he was charging them JA$700 [US$7] for the journey. He said he upped his fare because there were three men. I immediately called back the dispatcher who confirmed that the fare was JA$500. The taxi driver transported the youth back to new Kingston (whew!) and voiced his surprise that I would make a fuss over a "measly” two hundred dollars!

Apparently some taxi men are understandably apprehensive about taking a number of men in their vehicles. So that might partly explain the reluctance of the taxi men to transport the youth. However, this was in the middle of the day, and On Time was merely being asked to pick up passengers the company's taxi had deposited at the hospital. However the extra charges asked could only have something to do with some kind of "gay tax" or premium that gay men must pay if they hire a taxi.

I was relieved when the youth reached back to New Kingston. I had anticipated that four of them would have gone with Tyrone, but only two did, in the long run. Both have prescriptions to be filled.

Never a dull moment."

ENDS

I was critical of Reverend Sean Major Campbell association with this matter and despite his presence on the board why is the church which he heads not more involved such as sheltering and in depth spiritual and other engagement, is this only for show? Why did it had to come to murders, multiple attacks and such before the privileged come in on elitist wings to supposedly save the destitute?

I am still skittish about this initiative and I am not pleased as you may have gleaned from the coverage on MSM/T homelessness and displacements over the years, IT DID NOT HAVE TO COME TO THIS. I have seen similar high profile meetings before and such to no avail for those who really need the help, divide and rule anyone? how many meetings will member of parliament Julian Robinson for example have to attend to appreciate the gravity of the situation, where is the psycho social support apart from condoms distribution for that specific group, what about the other populations in other parts of the island?

remember this from Feb 2013

The still unoccupied old Dahlia Dental Centre (above) along Upper King Street nearing the York Park Fire station that was air-marked to be a shelter by the previous JLP administration in 2010 yet it is left to overgrowth and animal usage. This was to address the persons who use the St William Grant Park and adjacent areas, if successive governments are not dealing with mainstream homelessness why do some folks believe that said govts must or is going to provide shelters for LGBT people given the political sensitivities involved.

Peace and tolerance

H