The Ministry of Youth Development and National Service has embarked on a project to renovate and outfit a building which would be converted into the Sevilla Transition Home in Couva.
The sod-turning ceremony took place yesterday.
The Sevilla Transition Home is meant to house young women between the ages of 18 to 24 years old who have aged out of children's homes in this country.
The stay is projected to be two years for each woman.
Minister of Gender and Child Affairs Ayanna Webster-Roy expressed the hope that the home would go a long way in improving the lives of the residents.
"Most of the persons who would pass through these doors when they are opened would have been young ladies for some unfortunate reason ended up in one of our community residences or children's homes and that would have meant that they would have had a shaky start but that does not mean that they don't deserve an excellent finish," she said.
Minister of Youth Development and National Service Foster Cummings said there is a trend of young people ageing out of children's homes at 18 years old without anywhere to go.
"Each year in Trinidad and Tobago, hundreds of young people both young men and young women age out of community residences, what you would call orphan homes in the past, and must leave the only place they have called home, for some of them, all of their lives," he said.
He said for young women they are faced with the reality of building a life without friends and family, end up on the streets or could fall prey to people with ill-intent
"This may not be your reality but it is the reality of hundreds of young women in our country," he added.
Minister Cummings also said the building being renovated is owned by the State and therefore money would be saved.
"A Project like this would certainly have cost 3 times or 4 times what the expenditure would be for this project if we had to go and construct a facility from scratch or rent facilities for something like this," he said.
The project is being spearheaded by the Rural Development Company and is expected to be completed by June 2023.
It will cater to up to 60 women.
The facilities will include rooms for the differently-abled, recreational, computer, and counselling rooms.
Support services would also be provided by several state agencies.
Some of the help is set to come from the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services.
Minister Donna Cox said she was aware of the challenges being faced to care for and house the vulnerable in society.
