Fatimah: 64 homeless persons rescued in S’wak as of February
KUCHING: A total of 64 homeless persons have been rescued as of February this year during 30 integrated and targeted operations carried out across the state, said Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah.
She said of the total, Miri Division recorded the highest number of homeless persons rescued at 26, followed by Kuching Division with 19 and Sibu Division with seven.
“The operations were conducted in eight divisions, and in addition to the three mentioned, others include Samarahan with four rescued, three each in Sarikei and Limbang, and one each in Sri Aman and Bintulu,” she told a press conference after chairing the first series of the Coordination Meeting on Sarawak’s Homeless, here on Monday.
She also said that for the whole of last year, 83 operations were carried with a total of 237 homeless persons rescued and placed at various temporary shelters.
In 2020, Kuching Division recorded the highest number of homeless persons rescued at 90, followed by Bintulu Division with 43 and Sibu Division with 41, she added.
The operations were conducted in eight divisions, and in addition to the three mentioned, others include Samarahan with four rescued, three each in Sarikei and Limbang, and one each in Sri Aman and Bintulu.
Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah
According to Fatimah, in order to strengthen social support for the homeless especially in big cities and towns, more temporary transit centres for the homeless (TTG) were needed.
“In Sibu, a TTG is being built whereby the construction and renovation process started on Jan 30, and is expected to be completed on July 29 and should be operational by August,” she said.
As for the TTG in Kuching, Fatimah said it is a result of a public-private initiative and will take on a slightly different approach.
“The Borneo Best Support Centre (BBSC) located at Jalan Abell in Kuching will be an integrated community support facility that serves not only as a transit shelter for the homeless but also as a shelter and training centre for women affected by social issues, as well as a soup kitchen and community food bank.
“It is a centre of collective responsibility within the community that provides awareness, advocacy, treatment and referral of vulnerable groups, and also first social information report destination, tracking, guiding and counselling. It also conducts capacity building,” she said.
She added that the centre will be operated by non-governmental organisations and volunteers, and will have home ly and non institutional is ed features to cater to the target groups.