The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

SOCIAL workers, along with representatives from Urban Renewal and the Royal Bahamas Police Force, staged a community walkabout in Coral Gardens to assess the various social problems that exist in that area.

Crime, unemployment and poverty are some of the social issues in Coral Gardens. There are also a number of dilapidated and abandoned buildings in the area.

On Friday, the teams went door-to-door to hear the concerns of residents. They will seek to provide assistance to improve the quality of lives there and to transform the community.

Team leader Vanda Capron said social workers, Urban Renewal, and the police are committed to building stronger communities and assisting those persons who are in need.

“The issues we are seeing here are the same things that exist everywhere: unemployment, the need for social assistance and child care.

“We have started projects in Coral Gardens because…we feel that if some positive alternatives are provided for residents here we would not have some of the situations that exist,” she said.

Ms Capron said they will be visiting other communities as well.

“Urban Renewal’s motto is building stronger communities by transforming lives, and we feel if we can transform the life of one child, one teen, one adult, it will make a world difference in the community,” she added.

“The prime minister said that we must become the heartbeat of the community and we cannot become the heartbeat if we do not know what is happening in these communities.”

Assistant Superintendent of Police Henry Rolle, the officer responsible for Urban Renewal Community Policing, said crime is a concern in the Coral Gardens area.

“We realise that the quality of life here is impacted by the social conditions and the environment, and we want to find out from residents their concerns so we can move forward in addressing the issues.

“We feel confident that we can minimise incidents of crime in this area if we can achieve an acceptable standard of policing and improvements in the social and environmental conditions here,” said ASP Rolle.

Social worker Pauline Bowen-Forbes, who is also a Barry University student intern assigned to Urban Social Services, said they are getting important feedback and information from residents about the various needs in the community.

“We are not only about food assistance, social workers are more than that. We look at the emotional and social needs of the community. There are children facing serious situations, some of them are exposed to abuse and some do not attend school regularly because parents cannot afford to buy school uniforms or lunch for them, and we are here to work with those persons in the community.”

Mrs Forbes said once they discover such cases during their walkabout they refer them to the different areas at the Department of Social Services for assistance.

“There are some good citizens living in Coral Gardens area, and I was just amazed by a talented young artist and the beautiful art she creates at home. We want to encourage all the NGOs (non-government organisations) and business persons to come on board and work with us on various projects to highlight some of the good talents and good citizens living in this area,” she said.