(l to r) Mrs. Priscilla Owens, Mrs. Areanna Syers, P.S. Health and Community Services, Elijah Silcott, Mrs. Beverley West-Joseph
Witnessed by a small gathering made up of social welfare and media personnel, some welfare recipients and vulnerable persons, the Department of Social Services officially launched its Incentive to Work Pilot Program. The event took place at the Look Out Community center on Thursday, April, 2015 at mid-afternoon.
The Pilot Program is aimed at providing opportunities and experiences which will assist and enable the integration of social welfare clients into the workforce. According to Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health Social Services Elijah Silcott, he said that the origin of the program and what it seeks to accomplish, is the break of the momentum of giving and giving while people want more and more, it will allow people to work for themselves.
He said the Incentive to Work program was the result of recommendations of a consultant Greg McPaddact, “who did a very comprehensive program on how we should restructure Social Welfare”.
He said that the consultant made a number of recommendations they could not implement, “so they will be phased over time.”
He said further, “as we were progressing the then Premier (Reuben Meade in answer to the beseeching Donaldson Romeo for better support) added his voice to the program as to what could be done and thus …of the incentive to work program today is a reality, it is something that the social services department is very proud of, why, because people consider us to be giving and giving and giving and as we give people want more, we are saying we need to break that momentum and allow people to work for themselves, this is an opportunity for persons to get involved and to provide for themselves.
Mrs. Priscilla Owens, Senior Social Worker opened with a welcome as she chaired the proceedings followed by prayers led by Mrs. Deniese Dennis Hurmans, Social Worker Asst.
The Department of Social Services incentives to work pilot program was due to begin onTuesday, May 5, 2015. Social Welfare officer in the Social Services Department, Areanna Syers at the launch on Thursday last week explained that ten persons will benefit from the incentive to work pilot program while giving an over-view of the program.
“The Honourable Rueben T Meade whilst he was Premier strongly advocated – a hand-up and not a hand-out approach. His belief is that vulnerable persons should be given an opportunity to work for a living and thereby encouraged to be self-reliant,” Mrs. Syers said, noting that they were now acting on the recommendation and commending him.
While also congratulating the present Government “for following through and seeing the program off to the present start,” she further noted: “The Social Services Department have designed and developed the incentive to work program and we are now ready to implement it.”
She said: “Though initially this is designed to be a pilot study, it is anticipated that it can be developed into a long standing project after the six months would have relapsed and the evaluation and review of the process is over.”
The speakers at the launch also noted, that the funders DFID are fully supportive and would very much like to see this program developed further.
Mrs. Beverley West-Joseph closed the proceedings before light refreshments with a vote of thanks during which she recognised and gave special thanks to business/institutions and several individuals “who assisted in the facilitation of the work program.
