Government Taking Steps to Address Unhoused Crisis

They sleep on sidewalks, in public parks and in abandoned buildings, often unseen and too often forgotten. Homelessness in the country is prompting action, with a new national initiative investing over eight hundred thousand dollars to expand shelters and support services in Belize City, Orange Walk, Cayo, and Stann Creek. Prime Minister John Briceño says the effort reflects the country’s moral duty to care for its most vulnerable, especially those facing mental illness and addiction.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“ Human development presented a paper to Cabinet where they expect to spend over eight hundred thousand dollars to be able to set up new homes, not only in Belize, but in like in Orange Walk to look after the north, in Cayo and in Stann Creek. Homelessness is becoming a serious problem in society and it’s a sad one. In many instances, many times these people have mental issues and I know that lots of time people say the family don’t care for them. A lot of families try and they try and they finally get frustrated and then they end up on the streets. And now I think we believe that as our government and as a people, we also have a responsibility – a moral responsibility to do something for them. So the plan was presented to cabinet. It was approved, but then we need to look at the budget. I was speaking with the CEO of investment last night and I’m suggesting that maybe what we could do from with Boledo has become very successful. Remember under the UDP they were collecting about two-point-five million. This year, it seems that we’re going to make about twenty-five million dollars in profit, ten times more than what was happening under the UDP. So I was, I’m suggesting, I’m thinking that maybe we should take money from the boledo to finance this to help our people.”