NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (July 16, 2021) – – The Department of Social Services has come in for high commendation from Hon. Eric Evelyn, Minister of Social Development in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA).

“I want to commend the Director [Mrs. Sandra Maynard-Morton] and her team at the Department of Social Services for the really fantastic job that they have done over the past year as we navigate through these very difficult times in this pandemic,” he said in a statement in the Nevis Island Assembly on July 13, 2021.

The Minister said the staff of the department has provided continuous outreach services to the senior citizens, vulnerable members of society and those needing assistance due to the impact of the pandemic.

“I want to assure members of the general public that my Ministry and my Department of Social Services continue to be very supportive, very vigilant, very responsive to the needs of our people.

“The Department of Social Services during all of this unprecedented time we have gone through, during all of the lockdowns last year and of course we had one last week as well, Social Services has never been locked own. We have been up and about, every day, every week, every month, irrespective of what the situation has been on the ground.”

The department ensured the meals programme for the less fortunate members of society continued even during the lock downs, and liaised with security forces so that caretakers and family members of senior citizens had the necessary passes to be able to attend to their wards’ needs.

In addition the department has maintained its counselling services and continues to help persons working through frustration and other psychological conditions during these challenging times.

The dedicated staffers also facilitated the food voucher programme over the past year to ensure that those who would have lost their income and other persons in need could have some form of assistance.

Minister Evelyn said, “I’m very proud of what we’ve done over the past year and what we’ll continue to do to ensure that the people of Nevis are well looked after.”

He admonished persons seeking assistance from the department to have patience and understanding as there is a process in place to verify information provided by applicants to the various safety net programmes.

“We are trying as much as possible at Social Services to spread what we have and so we reach as many persons as possible and we reach those who need the assistance most,” he said.