The Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness (BAEH) has again appealed for a state emergency policy to protect homeless people by moving them to safe shelter during hurricanes.

Two months into the Atlantic hurricane season, the head of the alliance, Kemar Saffrey, expressed concern for those who are homeless and have mental illnesses and other issues who do not see an immediate threat to their safety and refrain from seeking shelter during disasters.

He said: “If it’s not there [or] if it’s there already—we need to utilise it similar to COVID, emergency state order where we can put these persons up into the relevant organizations, whether it be the psychiatric hospital, whether it be other institutions that serve drug addiction but we need a policy that looks at state of emergency.”