Senior Reporter
kay-marie.fletcher@guardian.co.tt
As the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) continued its collection drive in Chaguanas yesterday, two families evicted from homes in Lion’s Gate in Enterprise pleaded for leniency.
While the residents admitted to illegally occupying the HDC units, they said the process to attain an HDC home had been painstakingly long and they were simply trying to keep a roof over their heads.
In the community, evidence of the eviction was scattered along the roadside.
Some of the neighbours offered to store their belongings, but most of their household items including furniture, kitchen appliances, food and clothing were left on the street.
The evicted families said they were among thousands of people waiting in line to become homeowners even as several HDC units in Lions Gate remained unoccupied for years.
One single mother, who asked not to be named, said she recently received a notice from HDC and was in the process of finding somewhere to stay.
But, there wasn’t enough time to do so as she woke up to several HDC officials accompanied by police officers and a bailiff at her door to evict her yesterday.
She said she had lived in the home for almost five years but the person who owned the home had died.
Since then, she said, she had been trying to get the house on her name but that had not been an easy task.
Making matters worse, she said, her son was murdered some months ago which caused her life to turn upside down.
She said the eviction had now made her homeless and childless.
“It is a really trying time now for me because I’m still mourning the loss of my child, my only child. They did things that were just unjustified to me. This is just as painful as losing my child, but it’s really hard.”
The woman said she had no clue where she would live.
“My name is already in the (HDC) system. They called me for relocation. I explained everything to them but they still did what they had to do.
“We watch around and it has so many vandalised houses in this said area and nothing is being done about it. They say this is for poor persons, but with just the procedures of getting the houses, it’s too much. This is not for low-income people,” she added.
In a release on Tuesday, HDC revealed that people in Chaconia Crescent in Four Roads, Diego Martin and Cypress Hills in Union Hall, San Fernando were also a part of its collection drive to receive outstanding instalments or face eviction.
It said the move was necessary to recover millions of dollars owed and reclaim affordable units to house those most in need.