HAUGHTON MEADOWS, Hanover – EARNEST England, a 57-year-old man of this Hanover community who has been living in less-than-ideal conditions for more than a decade, is hoping that he will get assistance in the new year to improve his housing situation.

“I am begging a help to fix up the house,” stated the man of little words when the Jamaica Observer West caught up with him on New Year’s Eve outside a dilapidated board structure he calls home.

The ramshackle house, located in Haughton Meadows, lies in close proximity to the Hanover Parish Court.

England said he needs building materials — including nails, zinc and board — to repair the rundown structure.

England, whose house doesn’t give him much protection from the elements of weather, said while he has received a “little assistance” in the past, he is unable to do anything on his own without more help.

“Dem [zinc] want to change off because some little hole in them. I get some zinc and I want to take them off but I don’t have the help. I am going to need the help to take them off,” he stressed, pointing to several rusty and porous sheets of zinc on the building.

While the board structure with its huge holes, rotten walls, and flooring appear to be in no condition to withstand the slightest breeze, England said the structure was miraculously able to withstand various storms and hurricanes.

England, who said he has no children, siblings or parents, noted that he has an uncle alive who is living in Hopewell, but he has not seen him in years.

When asked why he is living in such a deplorable condition the casual labourer said that “the money that I earn is only hand to mouth”.

He noted that from time to time he would get what he calls “small jobs”.

To complicate matters, England occasionally has to be hospitalised because of an undisclosed ailment that results in parts of his body being swollen.

He said he was hospitalised two times last year, the most recent being in December. He was released days before Christmas.

He told the Observer West that in addition to his earnings from doing odd jobs he receives assistance from the Poor Relief Department of the Hanover Municipal Corporation, and citizens within the community where he has been living for the past 30 years.

When contacted, Neika Edram, head of the Poor Relief Department at the corporation, confirmed that England has been a part of that institution’s population and feeding programme for some time now.

She said her department has been trying to get a housing solution for England, but without any success.

She pointed out that Government funding cannot be used to construct a house unless the applicant is able to provide proof of ownership or a permission letter that grants the applicant access rights to the land.

“Poor relief is unable to provide housing if they don’t have proper documentation for the land so that is the challenge,” stated Edram, who disclosed that her department is currently exploring other options.