NIA CHARLETOWN NEVIS (April 08, 2020) — The following is a statement by Hon. Eric Evelyn, Minister of Social Development delivered on April 08, 2020, regarding support services being offered by the Department of Social Services for the most vulnerable during the ongoing lockdown.

We want at this time to continue to assure members of the general public that the Social Services Department, the Ministry of Social Services, we are continuing to do what we have to do to ensure that persons in the community are well taken care of even during periods of lockdown.

We have, through Social Services in conjunction with the police department, been facilitating persons that is primary care givers in particular who must take care of their loved ones, the sick, the shut in, the housebound, and the elderly who absolutely must have care during these times.

For the persons who are primary care givers, those who have been called in and those who continue to call, we are reminding you in order to get a pass to be on the road during lockdown periods to look after your relatives, kindly contact the Director of Social Services Ms. Joyce Moven at Tel. no. 664-9670.

We also want to remind you that we continue through the Seniors Division to provide our meals for our seniors and the less fortunate. So those of you who are normally accustom to get meals, we continue to provide.

If there any persons who are desirous of being on that programme, kindly call the number that I just spoke about.

Very importantly as well, I must remind members of the general public that we are going through some very, very challenging times. Times we have never experienced before, and during times like these, persons would need emotional support.

We want not only to keep you physically strong but we want you to be mentally stable as well, and so we want to just assure members of the general public who may be going through some challenging times emotionally or psychologically, that you can get support from our counsellors at the Counselling Unit of the Department of Social Services.

During this period, the counsellors can be reached at these numbers: 664-7269 or 665-9565. You can call. You can text or you can WhatsApp these numbers for anyone who needs emotional support.

For persons who generally need information in regards to social services, you can also call this number: 665-2501, and so once again, we assure members of the general public that the Social Services Department will continue to be at your service and will continue during this period of crisis.