THE Ministry of Youth is in desperate need of shelters to house street dwellers.
Minister Jese Saukuru said they were running out of shelter for rehabilitated youths and Fijians living on the streets.
“We really need new shelters,” said Mr Saukuru.
“We are grateful to the Ministry of Social Protection for allowing us to use the former Old People’s Home in Lautoka and we are negotiating with them to take over the facility.
“If that is successful, we will be able to have a permanent rehabilitation facility in Lautoka, at least.”
Mr Saukuru said the ministry had identified land in Nadroga on which shelters could be located “but there was an issue with the land ownership”.
“If we are going to go that route, we have to ensure, as a ministry, that we are engaging stakeholders that will assist us in establishing permanent shelters for these rehabilitated youths.”
He said the ministry would continue to work with stakeholders to address the ongoing problem.
“I think we have to work together as a Government to look for solutions.
“We need to be able to help the less fortunate with the resources available to us, and if that is a challenge then we engage our stakeholders to help us in our work to take our youths off the streets, rehabilitate them and give them a second chance at life.”
He also expressed concern over the recent stabbing of two men in Lautoka by an alleged street dweller.
He said they would continue to work with stakeholders, such as the police, to address the issue and help prevent similar incidents from occurring.
Eyes on street dwellers
THE number of street dwellers in Lautoka is increasing, says Minister for Youth and Sports Jese Saukuru.
He says the ministry, which has been working to rehabilitate and rehome some of these youths, has noted these homeless youngsters are moving from city to city.
“One thing we found was an increase of our street dwellers in Lautoka and we saw that some of them had come from Suva,” Mr Saukuru said/
“Our program is designed in a way that when we rehabilitate one person they go back to their family, their village or to a shelter.
“We had done that earlier this year but after we had successfully rehabilitated a particular group, there would be others that come to the streets.
“So, the number has not moved and in certain places, they increased.”
Mr Saukuru said in the coming year, the ministry would step up its efforts to address the issue.
“The place we need to always look at is the home. We need to start with the home.
“If the family unit is broken then that opens the door for the child to end up on the streets.
“We need to strengthen our family units in order for us to be able to keep our children at home.”
