Managed meals over mayhem
90% of food given to homeless by ‘caring’ J’cans dumped, not palatable, says local gov’t minister in push to organise projects
Published:Monday | October 20, 2025 | 12:02 PMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
Acting Inspector of Poor at the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation, Donna-Gaye Brady, says the Poor Relief Department has been receiving numerous calls from individuals and organisations seeking to streamline their homeless feeding programmes by routing them through shelters.
Brady, giving the update on Saturday while addressing a feeding event organised by Nickiesha Flash at the Marie Atkins Night Shelter, added that the department welcomes the offers and is working to coordinate partners to ensure consistent support for shelter residents.
Last week, Desmond McKenzie, minister of local government and community development, indicated that homeless persons reject and improperly dispose of food given to them by strangers 90 per cent of the time.
McKenzie, while making an impassioned plea for the homeless to work with the authorities and vacate areas such as Justice Square, urged the homeless to make good use of the multiple meals per day provided at the drop-in centres and avoid meals not fit for consumption.
Mayor of Kingston Andrew Swaby said that for the better part of a year, the municipality has communicated that persons seeking to help with feeding the homeless should contact the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) to ensure that the food being shared is fit for consumption.
“We actually camp out at Ward Theatre or Justice Square on Sundays just to encourage them to make contact with us, and they consistently don’t make contact with us. Persons who probably have a dance and have leftover mannish water and it gets sour, and they carry it and come give it to the persons, those are the persons who we are talking about,” Swaby said.
Redirect funding
Brady said the group that organised Saturday’s feeding of persons at the Marie Atkins Night Shelter adhered to the call and the activity went smoothly.
“We are happy to see that a group has decided to comply and adhere to this call. So they came in, they were able to feed the homeless population and feed some residents in the shelter, and we truly appreciate the gesture,” Brady said.
“We would have received a number of calls, and we appreciate it,” she added, noting that the aid from charities allows the Poor Relief Department to redirect some of its funding to other critical needs, like healthcare for the homeless.
“So, we are asking persons to come in, be a part of the process ... . Feeding on the streets contributes to garbage and the entire littering of downtown Kingston, which is something we are trying to move away from at the KSAMC.”
Flash, who organised Saturday’s activity to celebrate her birthday, encouraged others to join in the feeding of the poor and homeless.
She said the feeling of giving back was “indescribable”, adding, “I want more people to come on board to get the experience.”
The national homeless survey, the third of its kind, is expected to be published soon. The last survey was done in 2017 and found that, at the time, some 1,938 individuals reportedly experienced homelessness across Jamaica.
The latest survey was conducted from October 6-10 across all parishes by the Ministry of Local Government, through the board of supervision, and aims to generate critical data to inform future policies and services for individuals experiencing homelessness across Jamaica.
McKenzie, while meeting with them last week, urged the homeless to avoid the streets and utilise the night shelters.
Between January 3 and September 16, a total of 31 persons were taken into the Marie Atkins facility.
Homelessness, which has been a perennial problem, was again brought into the spotlight last month after judges of the Court of Appeal renewed concerns over the growing homeless population in Justice Square, and the accompanying dumping and behavioural issues in the area.
Not all homeless
McKenzie said the Government would be “once and for all” dealing with the problem, but not with brute force.
He said some persons who were at the walk-in centre have been rehabilitated and have gone back to their previous homes.
“Not everybody you see on the street is homeless. Some of them come out to get something to eat … . We have gathered those info in the survey that we are doing. We look forward to the outcome and to see what can be done, but the commitment of a caring government is to respond to the concerns raised by those who are affected and to respond more so to the persons who are finding themselves in this unfortunate position,” McKenzie said.
At the same time, the minister noted:”We cannot continue to turn our backs on the high level of indiscipline … just last week, someone almost catch the courthouse a fire. Those of you who a touch the drugs, leave it alone. If you have a drug problem, tell the poor relief officer we will find help for you.”
He reiterated that it was important that Justice Square be kept in good condition, and emphasised that millions of dollars have been spent to improve the aesthetics in the space.
“So, I am giving all of you notice that we are gong to be putting some steps in place. We are not going to allow any more gathering around the court and [to] nasty up the place,” McKenzie said, while reminding the homeless of the risks associated with living on the streets.
The minister, who is also a former mayor of Kingston, jogged their memories to two or three years ago when a homeless man was set ablaze by several youth in Kingston, which appears to contain the most homeless.
“I don’t want that to happen to any more of you, so I am going to ask you to work with us to correct the challenges,” McKenzie said.
“It’s because we care for you why we want to get you off the street. You might say we don’t have the best conditions here at Church Street, but the conditions that you have here is better than on the street. When you are on the street, the sun bun yuh and rain come wet yuh,” the mayor added.