Reporter
carisa.lee@cnc3.co.tt
For years, the Cyril Ross Children’s Home in Tunapuna was a lifeline for children living with HIV/AIDS. On December 31, 2025, however, the institution closed its doors after failing to receive its residence licence from the Children’s Authority.
The space along El Dorado Road had served as a residential facility for the children for the last 31 years.
Contacted on the issue, St Vincent de Paul Society president Nigel Phillips said it was a difficult decision to make, but noted it was not financially viable to keep the space running without a licence.
“We kept it open, even though we know it was not profitable to keep it open because of the various liabilities that a child who is at the home came with,” he said.
When the decision to close was made, four children—aged nine to 16—still called the home their refuge, supported by nine staff members, Guardian Media learned.
Phillips said over the years, they had all become like a family and he expressed concern about the well-being of the children.
“One was placed with her godparent; another girl who was doing very, very well, very extremely well in school, and she was facing foster care by someone else, and I heard that she didn’t take it very lightly, you know, she was very emotional in terms of her placement,” he shared.
In 2018, the Government started the legal framework and rules for regulating children’s homes. In 2020, the home changed its name from the Cyril Ross Nursery to the Cyril Ross Children’s Home. Phillips said the Office of the Prime Minister provided grant funding to assist with upgrades at the home as it worked toward meeting licensing requirements. The building, he said, was fully upgraded and fire and safety compliant.
“We would have brought it up to the standards, so every time we go back, it is something different,” he said.
He said this forced the organisation to dip into the society’s funds, costing approximately $500,000 over the past three years.
Eventually, he said, they received a provisional licence, which expired on December 31.
But after numerous attempts to receive updates and engage in dialogue, he had the difficult discussion with his executive team that ultimately led to the decision to close the home. He said the home executive had difficulty securing meetings, there were limited responses, and there was no clear pathway to full licensing.
“It’s like pulling teeth, as the old people say, trying to get a meeting with Children’s Authority or to have a discussion on how we go forward,” he said.
While he understands that the Children’s Authority has a mandate, Phillips believes three years is too long, as NGOs need collaboration, not silence, especially with so many children waiting to be placed in an institution.
“Because I said we changed the name legally, it went through our attorneys and whatever legal aspect to have the name change to where children will come in without HIV, and we would have put things in place and how we’re going to deal with the population and education and all these different things,” he said.
He said the ball was in the court of those in authority, but said there must be meaningful engagement, clear timelines and financial viability.
Phillips said if this does not happen, the Society of St Vincent de Paul is open to renting the facility for child-related use, such as a kindergarten/nursery or another NGO, and has made offers to his staff who are now without a job.
Contacted on the issue yesterday, Minister of People, Social Development and Family Services Vandana Mohit said she would look into the matter.
Messages were also sent to former Miss Universe Wendy Fitzwilliam—an advocate for children with HIV/AIDS who worked with the Cyril Ross home over the years and helped to raise funds—as well as to the Children’s Authority, but there were no responses up to late yesterday. Former gender minister Ayanna Webster-Roy also did not comment.
When Guardian Media initially visited the Children’s Authority website, Cyril Ross was one of the homes listed as licenced, but when the site was checked again yesterday afternoon, the home was not on the list.
