MINISTER of Social Development and Family Services Donna Cox distributed home repair grants to 15 of 221 successful applicants at City Hall, Knox Street, Port of Spain on September 11. Cox said $3.5 million had been spent on the programme for 2024 to date.
Cox said 224 applications or 800 people had benefited from the house repair programme.
Cox told the recipients the government recognised home repair could be difficult for a number of reasons.
“Many families do not have the money to repair their houses that may have been damaged during a natural disaster or simply due to age, and deterioration that occurred through the continuous exposure to weather conditions, poor maintenance, improper ventilation, high humidity, sub-standard building material and so on.”
She said the ministry’s National Social Development Programme Unit has the core function to improve the standard of living conditions of citizens of Trinidad and Tobago by providing basic infrastructure for essential utility services. She said the unit offered three different kinds of assistance.
Minor house repair assistance gives up to $15,000 in materials only for the repair/upgrade of dwelling houses and up to $20,000 in materials only to effect repairs/upgrades in the event of a disaster.
Sanitary plumbing assistance gives up to $15,000 in materials only under normal circumstances and in the event of a disaster for the repair or upgrade.
House-wiring assistance assists with the wiring or rewiring of dwelling houses under normal circumstances, and in the event of a disaster, that has affected the electrical wiring of the house.
She said in total, the grants being distributed on September 11 were: $2,338,226.50 for minor house repairs; $570,111,80 in sanitary plumbing assistance; and $496,459.22 in house wiring assistance.
Cox said the programme sought to specifically target the poor and vulnerable groups in society, including, but not limited to senior citizens, people with disabilities, the unemployed, victims of domestic violence and single-parent households.
“It has proven to be an instrumental component of the ministry’s plan to ensure that poor and vulnerable citizens throughout the country reside under habitable conditions.”
[caption id="attachment_1107928" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Minister of Social Development and Family Services Donna Cox during her address at the home repair grants distribution ceremony held at City Hall, Knox Street, Port of Spain on September 11. - Photo by Gabriel Williams[/caption]
Steve Warrick, 64, from D’Abadie, said he was grateful for the grant.
“My home was gutted from fire in May last year. It was really a challenge. It is a good thing the ministry and them are doing, because it helped me to do things like electrical and repairs. They gave me some of the grants which I utilised fully. With this additional grant, I will be able to complete my repairs and I feel very comforted.”
A woman said she was a fire victim over two years ago.
“It was a long wait, and I very much appreciate it
