Before the pandemic in March 2020, “the working poor” were teetering on the edge of poverty.
But because of the lockdowns during the pandemic, those people, and even others who were on more stable footing, slid into poverty, says Avonelle Hector Joseph, founder of the NGO Is There Not a Cause? (ITNAC).
She said despite millions doled out in government grants, many were “hungry, homeless, frustrated and desperate.”
The topic was not something people wanted to talk about, she said, because it would lead the population to demand that leaders act responsibly.
“Imagine if we could face the reality of our issues instead of pointing fingers. Because it is not a PNM or UNC problem, it’s a TT problem. So I envision a day when the level of maturity of our politicians could increase quite a bit and they would be able to see how we can work together to address what affects so many areas in our country.”
She said given the statements about bicycles, coal pots, ham and sacrifice, the country’s leaders were “totally out of touch with reality.” She stressed that she was not saying they did not want to help or did not care, but obviously did not understand the pain of the people.
She believes people cannot fix what they do not understand.
Hector Joseph said many people did not have money left after they paid rent. She has seen many cases of people being evicted, and that number increased dramatically since the pandemic. Many lost their businesses and were now trying to rebuild what they worked so hard to create, or had their weekly work hours cut.
These circumstances pushed some to live in their vehicles and she often gets calls from the police, Children’s Authority and various agencies asking for accommodation for them.
She added that plenty of people were not aware of, or did not know how to access government grants. And when they did, the experience was generally humiliating and frustrating, she said. They needed someone to walk them through the process, help them gather the necessary documents, tell them what they needed to do, and help them fill out the forms.
Those services will be one aspect of ITNAC’s upcoming City Outreach Centre when it opens in East Port of Spain.
“We need all hands on deck – civil society, the private sector and the government – so that we can engage the communities and come up with tangible ways to build those communities.”
[caption id="attachment_987792" align="alignnone" width="768"] Avonelle Hector Joseph at the site of a fire in Belmont in December 2021. ITNAC provided hampers and clothing to the affected, as well as replaced windows and curtains for a nearby home. -[/caption]
ITNAC has been very busy over the years and things are about to get busier.
In October, it opened a migrant learning space in St James which educates just under 100 migrant children from babies to 14-year-olds.
In early December, it will open its third transition house in Chaguanas, for people who have lost their jobs, whose homes burned down, were affected by flooding, and other situations whe
