Room found, but no child had to die

A HOME has been found for the 16-year-old boy who hails from Newcombe Valley in St Elizabeth who suffers from a severe case of cerebral palsy and whose family was told that he could not be accommodated in a state-run facility unless a ward of the State died.

Having been rejected twice, as noted by Father Gregory Ramkissoon, head of the Mustard Seed Community, Peter-John* will be moving to his new home at the Gift of Hope facility in Spur Tree, Manchester. The home, which currently has 22 wards and is being expanded to accommodate 40, is a gift from the Lyn Kee Chow family of Pika Pepper fame. It is operated by the Mustard Seed Community.

The development, which comes in the wake of a story that was published by The Gleaner on July 31 under the headline ‘No Room Until A Child Dies - Aunt Told No Place In State Facility for Disabled Teen Unless A Ward Passes’ follows the intervention of Mustard Seed and the Office of the Children’s Advocate.

Peter-John’s aunt, Sarah Johnson*, was overjoyed when she spoke with The Gleaner on Friday, a far cry from when she first spoke with our news team back in May.

“I am so elated. I am so happy,” she gushed as she related the visit of an officer from the Office of the Children’s Advocate who gave her the news that a home had been found for her nephew.

“We are so happy for The Gleaner story,” she said.

Johnson was particularly pleased that a home had been found for her nephew in an adjoining parish.

“I am so glad it is a home in Manchester so his grandmother (Janet Morgan*) can go and look for him,” Johnson shared.

*Names changed.