Windsor Girls' Home struggles to keep wards safe

By Carl Gilchrist Observer staff reporter

Monday, June 20, 2005

St Ann's Bay, St Ann - Windsor Girls' Home, located in the squatter community of Windsor in St Ann's Bay, is forced to spend $1.1 m a year on security to prevent thugs from invading the privacy of the 48 girls and 22 members of staff at the facility.

"The biggest problem at the moment is the men that continue to congregate outside of the home. Usually, there is a lot of them out there and they are very destructive to what we're trying to do here because they inveigle the children to run away," said the home's superintendent, Brenda Byron-Black.

"They cut the fence, they are abusive to the staff and even some of the girls who are not interested in them. We really would like to get rid of them from in front of the compound. We have to spend $94,000 per month on security and it is extremely expensive," she added.

If channelled elsewhere, this money could go a far way in improving conditions at the home, she argued.

A chain link fence that was erected about four years ago has helped to keep out intruders, but is not enough to ward off the predators who lurk near the gate for most of the day on a daily basis, she said.

When the Observer visited the home last Wednesday, about six young men were sitting under a tree next to the gate, which was closed.

But apart from the continuing threat posed by the men, the situation at Windsor has continued to be largely satisfactory, according to Byron-Black.

The home has managed to avoid controversy over the years, even after a probe of the island's children's homes and places of safety that ended with a damning report in 2003.

"The report did not indicate anything wrong here, we did not have any sexual abuse," Byron-Black told the Observer.

"But it (has an impact on) us, of course; because what happens for one (home) will affect the others. So we have to look at the report and see if there is anything that we need to address and take care of."

Guided by this philosophy, Byron-Black - who has been at the institution for 22 years and was recently confirmed as superintendent after acting in that position for an extended period - has started to implement some of the recommendations in the report.

"One of them was that we should have a book to record critical incidents, that has to be done. We have to keep records of anything that happens," she said.

There are also visits to the home by a monitoring officer.

"He comes announced and unannounced - that is working," said Byron-Black, who added that there are also more stringent health records kept.

"We always used to do that, but we have new forms (that we have to write up) so that if anybody comes in they can just look at the book and see that the girls are going to the doctor and the hospital," she said.

There is also a concerted effort to ensure that safety requirements are met at the facility, she added. These include working fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, and marked fire exits.

"We have the fire department come in and speak with the staff and the girls," the home's superintendent said, "we also have roll call three times a day. All of that is in place."

Windsor Girls' Home is located at the former Windsor Hotel, reputedly the first hotel in St Ann. The main building is showing its age, but two new blocks - a dormitory and classrooms - have been built in the last four years.

"We need more buildings and we need more things done, but things are happening and the place is not looking too badly," Byron-Black said.

Schooling is compulsory with most of the girls attending classes on the compound, doing regular subjects in addition to skills training in garment construction, food preparation and cosmetology.

Others now attend Marcus Garvey Technical and Ocho Rios High, and some girls have had classes at St Hilda's in the past. Satisfied that her wards' educational needs are being met, Byron-Black would like to see improvements in their physical activities.

A proposal and a request for funding for a play area has been sent to CHASE and home administrators are simply awaiting word on whether approval has been granted, she said.

"We are trying to get a hard court, because the girls like to play like netball. My dream is that we should have a hard court where they can really do some active sports," Byron-Black said.

Meanwhile, a Canadian volunteer with training in physical education (PE) has, for the past six months, offered PE at the institution twice a week.

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Windsor Girls' Home struggles to keep wards safe