Excerpt from Jamaica Observer column published 25 January 2021

By: Jean Lowrie-Chin

The horror of the murder of four street people in Kingston, and the subsequent reports of the condition of the homeless recalls Marcus Garvey’s statement on poverty: “Poverty is a hellish state to be in. It is no virtue. It is a crime. To be poor is to be hungry without possible hope of food; to be sick without hope of medicine; to be tired and sleepy without a place to lay one’s head; to be naked without the hope of clothing; to be despised and comfortless. To be poor is to be a fit subject for crime and hell.” 

This level of poverty leads to homelessness, and we must acknowledge the efforts of this and previous administrations for the safety net of the PATH Programme that has been keeping many a body and soul together. Homelessness is a global problem, and here in Jamaica, it is taken seriously by the Ministry of Local Government and several outreach organizations. However, it is when tragedy strikes that ordinary citizens are jolted by this heart-wrenching situation.

It is not only people with mental issues who end up on the street. On Friday evening TVJ reporter Anthony Lugg interviewed ‘Jodi’, a well-spoken young woman with a 7-year-old son now living on the street. She used to work in a call centre and after she lost her job last year, ended up on the street. She says thugs have stolen all her important documents.

Lugg’s colleague Janella Precius who was presenting the news, posted on social media: “This story broke my heart … I had to DIG DEEP to present the remainder of the newscast.” For those who wish to help Jodi, Janella shared her number: 876-431-1093. We understand that several persons have reached out to assist.

The Open Arms Centre on Windward Road, the Centre for the Upliftment of the Mentally Ill (CUMI) and the Clarendon Association for Street People (CLASP) are inspiring organisations. I had the pleasure of visiting the Open Arms Centre and left with a purchase of beautiful hassocks crafted by the once-homeless residents. The manager, retired Mental Health Nurse Yvonne Grant was conferred with the MBE in 2019 for her dedication to the mentally ill. Ms Grant walked us through classrooms, workrooms and the grounds where farming is done.  As a result of their training, scores of previously homeless persons are now able to take up jobs and afford their own accommodation.

Nurse Joy Crooks co-founder of the Montego Bay based CUMI can recount many success stories of mentally challenged persons who have made a turnaround in their lives. Hundreds of her clients have been able to return to the community, to obtain work and achieve stability in their lives. CUMI, a community-based non-governmental organization, officially opened its doors in 1991, when a group of concerned citizens established a soup kitchen and rehabilitation centre in Brandon Hill, Montego Bay, St. James. CUMI’s Day Centre has a small staff, supplemented by volunteers and partners. CUMI has since served as a model for several other parishes, including Kingston, Portland, Westmoreland, Clarendon and St. Ann. It partners with the community, private sector and government agencies, and works closely with the Cornwall Regional Hospital.

CLASP was created in 1995 by a group of concerned citizens. They state their mandate as, “to take charge of the mentally ill street people, facilitate the provision of their rehabilitation and return the stabilized ones to the mainstream of the wider society”. They note that their clients are evaluated and counselled by a team from the Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA) who, along with kind donors including Food for the Poor, provide medication and supplies.

The Jacob’s Ladder project of the Mustard Seed Communities (MSC) was conceived by MSC Founder Monsignor Gregory Ramkissoon, to protect residents with physical and intellectual disabilities after they became 18-years-old, the age when Government subvention would end for his young charges. “We couldn’t allow our people to go on the street,” said Monsignor Ramkissoon. “We had to create a safe haven for them.”

Jacob’s Ladder is nothing short of a community powered by love. The 101 residents are housed in 40 cottages with a supervisor in charge of each group. In the large Centre of Excellence built by the Digicel Foundation, there are therapy, catering, learning and craft facilities. A farm has been established, which helps to provide food for the various residences of the Mustard Seed Community throughout Jamaica.

We can take the example of the compassionate heroes in our midst and volunteer to rescue our homeless. Last Friday’s Jamaica Observer noted that currently, “forcing people off the streets may be in breach of their rights” but calls on legislators to act “to ensure that our most vulnerable people are protected, even against their will, and that good order prevails.”

Excerpt from Jamaica Observer column published 18 January 2021

_{By: Jean Lowrie-Chin}

World famous futurist Edie Weiner, who spoke at an IWF (International Women’s Forum) event here in Jamaica some years ago, was back last week to address us at a virtual IWF Conference. Weiner is convinced that we are entering a new civilization where humans are capable of three things: leaving the planet, destroying the planet and designing the future. She believes that with Elon Musk’s advances, in ten years we may be holidaying or even living on Mars. She warns that Arctic ice is melting faster than the models had predicted. She said that with artificial intelligence (AI), we are designing different futures in which genetic engineering, nanofabrication and 3-D printed body parts will see us humans no longer as just this body we live in, but merged with IT.

Weiner says that HR and IT must now be joined together, as one cannot function without the other. She challenged us to ‘go back to square one, re-imagine everything.’ She says we now have three life cycles: 1-50 years old, 51-100 years old, and the life ‘out in the ether’ – our entries saved in a cloud and thoughts on social media – what are the ethics around these? For architects, the built environment must take climate change into account – design on water as coastlines disappear and create extra-terrestrial developments. Soil testing on Mars will be an interesting exercise.

She notes that we have moved from workplace to work-space, that gender has new definitions, that e-sports is gaining as much popularity as physical sports. She has seen 30,000 people watching e-sports in a stadium (pre-Covid), beamed to 30 million. Universities are offering expensive scholarships to ‘e-thletes’!

She says the generation of energy will come from previously undiscovered sources as ‘everything is made up of energy’, so that innovators may be turning batteries into motor vehicles. She opines that with the new wearables and remote medical care, doctors may become the last resort. Indeed, the Texas A&M is recruiting mechanical and electrical engineers for medical studies as that is the way of the future.

She notes that we are moving ‘from mankind to mind-kind’ where the mind will be far more necessary for productivity and therefore the emphasis must be placed on critical thinking. We will go from education to learning, she says, where technology will allow you to be immersed in every subject. You will not need teachers, she notes, but you will need millions of ‘guides’.

She sees the rise of ‘distributive income compensation enterprises’ (DICE), like Airbnb and Uber forcing us to re-imagine the structure of economies. She notes that capitalism now has two branches, private and public, wherein ‘things that matter will become part of the bottom line’, the relentless evolution of corporate social responsibility. Interestingly, she notes that Trust is today’s new luxury, ‘much wanted but in short supply’ 

She described an experiment with the female and male brain when faced with a problem to solve: the man’s brain lit up in a particular place while the woman’s brain lit up all over ‘like a pinball machine’. She believes organisations need both types of brains to be successful.

She wants us to allow the younger generation to imagine their future, “From John Lennon to John Legend to young legends. Let us pass on our hopes, not our judgement to the younger generation.”

Regarding Covid, she declares, “The virus did not stop our lives. It has accelerated the need for change, it has forced us to re-examine healthcare, social welfare, prisons and workplaces.”

She said that successful organisations must promote true diversity, valuing the thinking of different types, and understanding that in the gaming world young people are choosing to be anyone they want, so they do not feel limited. Referring to her humble beginnings as a foster child enrolled in a school that was described as the worst in America, Edie Weiner believes, “It’s not about the haves and have nots, it’s about the cans and the cants.”

She said Nelson Mandela used his mind to escape from his physical 27-year imprisonment and emerged to change his country. “Power is not something someone gives you,” she explained. “Power is what you take.” She said successful leaders have three things in common: vision and passion, the ability to articulate them in word and deed, and a complete lack of embarrassment.  On this Dr. Martin Luther King Jr day, we can agree that he manifested these qualities. 

In short, to seize the opportunities of this new civilization, we must return to square one, shrug off the old formulae, re-imagine a brave way forward and take our power to make it happen. 

Gut-punch for the free world

The dawning of 2021 brought us new hope. We were so glad to see the back of 2020. Then on January 6, not even a full week into the new year, we watched with horror the attack on the US Capitol, a gut-punch to the free world.  Our country has benefitted greatly from the USA via the USAID and Ambassadors appointed by both Democratic and Republican administrations have engaged generously with our people. Ambassador Sue Cobb and Ambassador Pamela Bridgewater served with excellence and grace.

The last time we met with outgoing Ambassador Donald Tapia was at an event sponsored by his embassy to celebrate Jamaica’s Unsung Heroes. Past US Ambassadors have come together to create the American Friends of Jamaica (AFJ), raising millions each year for our worthy causes.

There is hardly a Jamaican family that does not have close relatives living in the USA and even in this pandemic, remittances have increased, the fruit of their labour, many serving on the frontline of the Covid crisis.

America is our family and so we wish President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris a successful way forward through the tragic suffering and death caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the trauma of last week’s insurrection. They need our prayers.

Domestic violence and our children

One of the elements of the ‘Nurturing Care Model’ developed by the Early Childhood Commission, is a safe environment, and so we are heartbroken at the murder of four-year-old Cloey Brown, caught in the crossfire of a domestic dispute between her father and her uncle in Trelawny early last week. Just a few days later, we learned that two-year-old Akeira Kerr was injured in another family dispute in Trelawny: her aunt threw a stone at her father, fracturing the child’s skull. Thank goodness we hear that she is showing improvement at the Bustamante Children’s Hospital where she underwent surgery.

Our social workers and psychiatrists should be engaged by the relevant ministries to creating mediation training programmes especially during these Covid times when tempers are short and patience is wearing thin. Mental health issues are on the increase worldwide, and we cannot afford to have our innocent children becoming victims of yet another serious health hazard.