Laventille West MP Fitzgerald Hinds said he was willing to help stroke victim Balmatie John, who is in need of supplies and repairs to her home at Phase Five, Beetham Gardens.

John's husband Elvis David Riley made an appeal for help on Monday, as he says their home is in need of urgent repair and asked for help with getting toiletries and a wheelchair for her.

John had a stroke in 2018 which left her unable to talk or walk.

Speaking with Newsday on Tuesday Hinds said he was willing to help the family and encouraged them to contact his office.

"I am always willing to extend help to any citizen and any human being, in particular my constituents.

"My telephone number at the office is 627-2087 and we have a lot of operatives in the area, and it shouldn't be too difficult for them to contact me.

"I would be very happy to make contact with them to see what assistance we might be able to provide."

Newsday also spoke with Minister of Social Development and Family Services Donna Cox, who said while her ministry was committed to helping those in need, she would have to verify whether John or Riley had applied for public assistance first.

She said in many instances people would reach out to the media before making a formal application and instead encouraged them to go through official channels.

[caption id="attachment_902323" align="alignnone" width="960"] Daniel Ramdhanie, stands in front of the house where his aunt Balmatie John lives.John suffered a stroke three years ago which left her unable to walk or talk. - Photo by Shane Superville[/caption]

"What has been happening is, a lot of people reach out to the media, and sometimes they go to the media first without even going to our social welfare offices. So even if I am approached, I can't do anything, because there is a process. So I won't be able to put someone on public assistance or give them a food card.

"What we do is, we ask them to go to the offices and apply...

"I want people to know that is what we are here for. There are 11 social welfare offices throughout the country. You go to the one closest to you and apply, and if there are issues, we will try to assist as much as possible."

Cox said in the past the ministry has also been able to provide short-term relief to families whose applications took longer than usual to process, through temporary food cards or hampers.

Newsday spoke to Riley, who said he had not been contacted by anyone offering to help up to Tuesday afternoon.

The post MPs Hinds, Cox willing to help Beetham family in need appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.

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