Homeless hurting at Christmas

The city of Georgetown was bustling with last-minute Christmas shoppers, but while those persons were rushing around to complete all their errands, the city’s homeless population was left faced with yet another day on the streets.

A lonely homeless man begs outside the Guyana Post Office, saying that was one of the few dry spots left in the city of Georgetown

The wet Christmas weather and the influx of people shopping misplaced scores of homeless people in Georgetown, who have nowhere to go this holiday season. Guyana Times  visited the Avenue of  the Republic and met a flooded sidewalk and a lonely older woman who was soaked to her bones. She told this publication that she was without assistance and that street was her home for the Christmas season. People rushed by without a second glance, consumed with their own needs.
When the weather is hot and the sun is shining, the avenue is normally home to several homeless citizens looking for a handout and a bit of support from the citizens of Georgetown. The Christmas Eve downpour had significantly reduced their presence.
The Guyana Post Office was one of the few areas where the homeless were able to find a dry spot. As this Guyana Times reporter walked past, it was apparent that some citizens shared the holiday spirit with their less fortunate counterparts, handing out food and drinks.
“We don’t have Christmas”
“We don’t have Christmas; we have this,” one man stated with his arms outstretched in an attempt to show that it was a day-to-day existence with little to no help. He told this publication that Christmas was no different than any other day.
Yet another man told Guyana Times:  “It hard, life here, but this is it.”
The city’s destitute citizens showed a range of emotions: some apathetic to the holidays, some were hopeful that the New Year could see change for them, with the possibility of more government funding going to shelters in 2013 and  others were angry.
It was clear that the average citizen mirrored the emotions of the less fortunate. “They need to find places for them to go, it’s Christmas,” A post office vendor told Guyana Times. She continued that the homeless were Guyanese and needed to be respected and taken care of and not forgotten, “especially this time of year; we all need to be more charitable”.
As Georgetown’s homeless population struggled to find a safe, dry place on Christmas Eve, many of them were not interested in going to the meagre shelters set up, noting that “places are full and there aren’t that many to go to, so we are here, nowhere to go”.
The Human Service and Social Security Ministry, which was allocated nearly $200 million in 2012, promised to introduce a range of programmes geared towards bettering the quality of life for Guyana’s homeless. The Night Shelter and the Centre for Rehabilitation and Reintegration were to work closely with the less fortunate and vulnerable citizens to ensure that they are given a brighter future.