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Stop stigmatising the homeless & mentally ill – Chonda T. Jeffers
This news site sat down for an exclusive interview on Wednesday April 20, 2016 with the persons in charge of the facility located in Purcell Estate about the name change and their new scope and mandate.
“Safe Haven Transitional Centre used to be the Sandy Lane Centre and the name has changed in order to provide better social support to individuals,” Director of the centre, Jacqueline A. Donovan said.
In the past Sandy Lane provided support to persons who were considered substance abusers. Safe Haven Transitional Centre now focuses on individuals who are homeless.
Donovan said most of the persons who are deemed homeless in the VI are those with mental illness, substance abusers or a those with recurring disorder. “That is where Safe Haven comes in, catering to those who are homeless,” she said.
Sandy Lane Centre now under Mental Health Unit
The Director explained that the Sandy Lane Centre has since gone in to the BVI Health Services Authority under the Community Mental Health Services.
“Most of the drug rehabilitation is done there. It is not being done here at the Safe Haven Transitional Centre. When clients come to us we focus on holistically, we provide different services at the centre...individual counselling, group counselling and that includes different group sessions such as coping skills, anger management, healthy living, job readiness, mental health awareness,” she said.
Donovan said too that even though the centre does not deal with substance abuse recovery, there are group sessions on addiction and recovery. They also do life skills training and getting the clients oriented towards getting back out there into the world of work.
“Some of the clients lost their skills and may not know how to do them any more so we have sessions on cooking and simple things, making their beds and other things. And that is because we are trying to transition them back into society and back into their own independent living,” she said.
Donovan said that once clients are coping well they do not have to continue to the end of the usually two year programme. She said, however, that even though the two years might have been reached it does not mean that a client has to go, as the Centre is willing to provide extra support until they are sure he or she is ready to leave and be reintegrated into society.
Some require long term care
Clinical Supervisor of the Safe Haven Transitional Centre, Chonda T. Jeffers told this news site that some persons with severe mental health issues cannot usually transition back into society and as such they will remain in the care of the Government.
“The Ministry of Health and Social Development would try to identify a long term facility here in the BVI that they could go to as the help that they need we would not be able to provide it as it is long term care,” said Jeffers.
While the Centre has the capacity for 16 persons, there are currently 9 in house clients and two community clients who do not sleep at the Centre but come daily to benefit from the support services.
The Centre looks at persons in the community who are at risk of becoming homeless because of some circumstance or other.
Larger scope, larger budget
Donovan said that with the change in scope the Safe Haven Transitional Centre now has a larger budget than when it was the Sandy Lane Centre. However, she was not prepared to say what that budget was.
The change from Sandy Lane Centre to Safe Haven Transitional Centre took effect from January 2, 2015. “Since then the Centre has been doing well...we have been able to transition people back into society with regards to employment and things like that,” she said.
Donovan added that feedback is important and as such the staff of the facility have meetings with employers to see how the former clients are holding up. “Once they leave here, they are not on their own...we follow up with them for six months,” said Donovan.
In terms of staffing strength, she said the Centre currently has four Programme Aides who deal with the clients and their training in addition to Jeffers who is a trained counsellor and Donovan herself who is a social worker by training.
“Our hope is for the stigma to be removed when it comes to mental health and the homeless. Because people fall into situations that could make them homeless and it might not have anything to do with mental illness or drugs,” said Jeffers.
Further, they are hoping that people and businesses in the community donate more towards the work that is being done. They also are looking forward to more family involvement in their efforts towards returning clients to society.
Donovan said clients are not just confined to the inside of the centre but they tend to a garden from which produce is sold to One Mart Supermarket and also they take trips to sister islands and places on Tortola as part of their recovery, including social and sports events.
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15 Responses to “Stop stigmatising the homeless & mentally ill – Chonda T. Jeffers”
With persons like Yellow and Andy, i would not stigmatize because I can obviously see that they are trying to become a better person. But the homeless that doesn't try to make become a better person, I feel like I have no choice but to stigmatize as a means of protecting them from using the dollar I gave them to continue on the same path they are going.
However, if I can see them willing to help themselves I would be will to let go of my stigma.