THE board of The Shelter has expressed gratitude to its corporate partners who over the course of the last three years, and even during the ongoing pandemic, persevered with its support to ensure the completion of renovation work to its facilities.

In 1987, former independent senator Diana Mahabir-Wyatt opened the Samaan Shelter, one of the earliest shelters for female victims of domestic violence and their children. The name was later changed to The Shelter.

However, over the years, the property fell into disrepair, so much so that it was closed three years ago.

Architects Maureen Legge and Colvin Chen volunteered their expertise and designed the complete renovation of the building. The first phase  was the Samantha Isaacs Learning Centre, which was completed through the support of the Australian High Commission and Digicel.

The second and more extensive phase was supported by many benefactors including Republic Bank Ltd. This phase was halted twice  by covid19 restrictions, thus delaying the reopening of The Shelter.

Five years ago, the then chairman of The Shelter, Anthony Inglefield, started the conversation on the need for renovation work ,which has become a reality under present chairman John Scott Hamilton.

The renovated building can now comfortably house 21 residents and consists of bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, a counselling room, a TV/playroom, living/dining room, kitchen, the Samantha Isaacs Learning Centre, which includes a library, an area for art therapy and a computer centre, an outdoor play area for the children and administrative offices.

"We could never have achieved this without the support of our benefactors to whom we will always be eternally grateful," a press release from The Shelter said.

Some of the services offered are: medical care, therapeutic counselling, school placement for the children of residents, skill set training, legal support, assistance with housing and assistance with dealing with all social service agencies.

The Shelter's primary focus has been and will continue to be the holistic healing and preparation for a safe, financially secure life for its residents.

There are seven non-government registered shelters in the country and for the last few years, three have been closed, mainly because of a lack of financial support.

With its renovation completed, The Shelter release said, its real work of making a positive difference continues. One in three women in the country has been exposed to domestic violence at some level, the release said, so there is a greater need to support victims and their loved ones.

The Shelter can be contacted through:

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TrinidadShelter

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/trinidadshelter/

Website: https://trinidadshelter.com/

E-mail: admin@trinidadshelter.com, or shelterfundraisingcommittee@trinidadshelter.com

NOTE: If you want to support the work of The Shelter, you can do so by making donations to https://donate.tegotv.com/to/the-shelter-for-battered-women-and-children-donation/ or