There is a soaring need for homes for women as alarming statistics from the Spotlight Initiative have revealed that in Trinidad and Tobago, one in three women and girls in unions have suffered abuse.
As part of the Digicel Foundation’s EPIC 2022 initiative, the Foundation partnered with Tabitha’s Home for Women and Children for the renovation of a building in Tobago.
Tabitha’s Home for Women and Children was established in Tobago to restore, empower and transform the lives of women and children who have been violated through any form of abuse and or exploitation.
The first phase of the project will include three independent, self-contained one bedroom units and office space.
The units will provide transitional housing in the form of short-term emergency shelter as well as subsidised, long-term, self-contained housing units.
Tabitha’s Home for Women and Children. Photo courtesy Digicel Foundation.
The space will also be used to offer economic, educational and social empowerment training. Tabitha’s Home operates a food pantry and closet that provides emergency food and clothing.
They also provide limited rental assistance for those in crisis. Emotional support is provided through professional counselling and other programs that build emotional stability and confidence, as well as spiritual support.
President of Tabitha’s Home, Rowena Pitt said: “The need for this home in Tobago is particularly critical at this time, as apart from Government assistance, there are no safe houses in Tobago.
Furthermore, there are no organisations offering the kind of step-down, long-term transitional housing that Tabitha’s Home will provide.
Rather than a shared housing model, women and their children will be able to stay in their own self-contained, one bedroom units for longer periods, giving them the time and safe space needed to rebuild their lives.”
In 2020, reports revealed 21 of the 46 women who were killed in Trinidad and Tobago were as a result of domestic violence situations which accounts for around 45 per cent of female homicides.
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