Fresh Water Pond, West End resident Franklyn Smith received the keys to a newly built home on behalf of Troy Smith and the Smith Family as part of the Housing Recovery Assistance Programme.
The keys were presented by Minister for Health and Social Development Carvin Malone, who commended his ministry for delivering the project.
He said, “It is pleasing that the Ministry of Health has stuck to their guns and have worked tirelessly with whatever resources that they were given to get our people back into homes. We would like to thank the Ministry’s Housing Recovery Assistance Unit for their steadfast work. We would like to thank the Premier for allocating the funds… to make sure that through this process homes will be built, until everyone is home.”
Also present at the handing over occasion was Premier and District Representative Andrew Fahie, who said that monies have been allocated in the upcoming 2022 national budget, to keep occasions like this a reality.
He said, “It is a joy to help people in need and even with this upcoming budget we have quite a few millions allocated to help many more people to get homes who lost their homes during Irma and Maria and even during some of these trying economic times of COVID-19.”
Meanwhile, Franklyn Smith expressed gratitude on behalf of his family to receive the keys to their new family home.
The Housing Recovery Assistance Programme is designed to help homeowners rebuild in the wake of hurricanes Irma and Maria in accordance with the provisions of the Virgin Islands Housing Recovery Policy and Hurricane Irma Recovery Plan.