More funds needed for new Grotto Home

More funds needed to complete Grotto Home
More funds needed to complete Grotto Home

Although officials say that the new Grotto Home for the Homeless building is 65-70 percent complete, they are still seeking assistance from the public and private sector to complete their scaled-down residence at Bellevue Rawle.

Outgoing secretary of the Grotto Home for the Homeless Tina Alexander, made the call at the Annual General Meeting of the Grotto Home on Monday.

According to her, it was clear that funds for the second phase of the project which includes the kitchen, the dining room, chapel and offices and also doubles as a disaster shelter, were still a “very long way off so a plan B was put into action.”

Instead they had to “temporarily turn the downstairs storage area into a temporary kitchen and laundry room and one dormitory serving as a dining room with a covered outside sitting area,” Alexander said. “It involves adapting the existing buildings so that the 40 or so residents can be accommodated safely,” she stated.

She said they would like to be relocated before the end of the year but pointed out that funds are still required to complete phase two.

“Approximately EC $ 1.2 Million would provide the concrete roofed disaster shelter complex. By God’s grace and relying on the continued generosity of Dominicans we expect plan B of the adapted phase one to be completed in a few months and for the residents to be relocated before the end of the year.”

Items required include tiles, tile cement, indoor and outdoor paint, fencing wire, metal uprights, gates, cement and several water tanks.

Alexander is not seeking re-election to the Grotto board of directors after 16 years of service but expressed her willingness to “ensure a smooth transition for the next treasurer and secretary, and I am prepared to assist with writing projects or providing training from my organization Lifeline Ministries if requested.”

During the Grotto AGM, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit promised to provide, over the next two weeks, a balance of EC 80,000 worth of building materials from an initial amount of EC$ 120,000.00 which he committed to the project. He also promised to give an additional EC$ 30,000 to the Home to assist in their general expenses.

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7 Comments

  1. Hod Kai Che- TR City
    July 17, 2014

    But Dominica is a give -a-way, welfare, hand out ,freeness State now. Government’s revenue falling, no jobs, no production but government just giving away the little revenue it collects from heavy taxation.

  2. Cross over
    July 17, 2014

    All kinds of lump sums are being given to Grotto, Catholic church, Vendors,WCMF, Carnival committee and young strong lazy men and women of Dominica who has done nothing and isnt doing nothing to help themselves than to sit out on the roadside waste time, talk foolishness and at one point go to the PM’S office where they receive cash by the thousands and materials amounting to thousands of dollars which they resell, However, the hard working public servants such as some teachers, some nurses,some firemen and some police officers who have been working ever since they left school or college to help shape and build a better and brighter future for Dominica cant get any sort of assistance or increase from Government except a cancerous tax filled salary at the end of every month which goes into paying bills immediately after receiving it. yet still Government and Parry bellot is claiming and asking the groups listed above to do more. As a public servant you ask Government to assist you with books for your kids, feed for poultry or pigs, financial assistance for medical emergencies for yourself or your kids or even duty free on a vehicle and their way of telling you “No” is by pushing you around for months and months and months until you get frustrated and forget about them. In the mean time all lazy dog and cat including Drug Dealers get what they want from them in one quick and easy go. Monies spending here there and everywhere by Government doing all sorts of foolishness but look at the condition of some of our roads, our schools (primary and secondary), our health centers and hospitals, our police stations where men breath out and others breath it in immediately in a match box size open barrack room where officers work 24 hrs like slaves for 10 and 12 days straight before getting a day off while the constitution states that police men should work 8 hours a day 40 hours a week . 000% yet still we love the PM.

  3. Doc. Love
    July 16, 2014

    It is unfortunate that a business man can receive approximately $500,000 from Government for his failed business, whereas our senior citizens have to be on all fours begging for a better place to reside. Skeritt wants to present a policy whereas money and lands from senior citizens residing at the Grotto could be paid to the Government on behalf of the grotto home, but strong healthy men and women just have to walk up the steps of the Financial Centre in order to receive free cash. Why not also ask those men and women to present a bank statement to prove that it isn’t a case of money going to the greedy instead of the needy according to Mr. Lennox Linton.

  4. B.E.B
    July 16, 2014

    Why is Mrs. Tina Alexander not seeking re-election to the board. This is the brain child of Mrs. Alexander, I would wish her to continue. She has been doing a fantastic work to the project and to the persons occupying the facility.
    I know life has to move on, family wise and other commitments ,But I’m appealing to u Mrs. Alexander to have a change of heart

  5. A Valley Man
    July 16, 2014

    If Skerrit and his wicked government had paid the Grotto the full market price of over $2million for their old property on Bath Road instead of the $500 000.00 which they were forced take , thanks to labor supporters like Irish the Chairman and Parry Bellot, the grotto would have sufficient funds for completion.

  6. Too late
    July 16, 2014

    Well divert the funds of the red clinic to the grotto home. That is all.

  7. 100% Dominican
    July 16, 2014

    Is it true that the Grotto is in fact owned and operated by the Catholic Church as part of its out reach program??? If that is so, then we must ask ourselves the question WHY IS THIS DONATION BEING MADE yet again to a Catholic Church organisation? Is there an ulterior motive here? And even more worrying is the question why is it that this money can be found and dished out when the monies owed to the Public Works department cannot be paid to them? The government obviously has every intention of shutting the cooperation down and is totally unconcerned about those who work there and the jobs and income which they will be losing…….. My goodness, where are we headed? We all want the older folks to be well taken care of and to live in a comfortable and caring environment but we must ask the questions in the face of such realities.

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