A road race for rehab

People will be running and walking for five kilometres this Saturday to raise funds for the Port Antonio Rehabilitation Centre, located at Prospect, Port Antonio, Portland.

The race, which starts at 9 a.m. at Boston Jerk Centre at Boston, loops at Zion Hill, and ends at Boston. Entry fee is $500 for locals, $100 for children under 12 years; $2,000 for visitors, and $1,000 for visitors' children under 12. Participants may register on the morning of the event between 8:15 and 8:45. First, second and third-place winners will each receive a medal.

Portlanders are encouraged to turn out in great numbers as the proceeds go towards the sustenance of the centre, which offers residential and other social and rehabilitative services to its clients.

It is a non-governmental organisation administered by the board of directors of the charity called Portland Rehabilitation Management (PRM) in association with the Portland Parish Council. Over the years, it has been sponsored by many entities, such as the Canadian and British high commissions.

THE WIDER SOCIETY

The aim of the centre is to prepare the clients for life in the wider society upon their departure from the facility, which has the capacity to house a limited number of male and female clients. It provides food, clothing, shelter, medicine and is home to as many as 21 homeless adults.

"The PRM shelter serves the homeless population of Portland and provides a safe living environment, medical care, meals, and rehabilitation services. The race is an effort on behalf of PRM to raise the necessary funds to maintain the success of the shelter and to embrace our dedication to the health and wellness of our community," Zack Wagner, the PRM's board's financial director, told Rural Xpress.

From time to time its staff, which is paid a stipend, is assisted by overseas volunteers who are accommodated by Great Huts Paradise on the Edge, an Afrocentric, eco-friendly resort located at Boston Bay.

"By establishing caring relationships with our clients, discussing stresses and challenges, supervising medication and reteaching social skills and healthy ways of coping, our staff and volunteers aspire to reduce the risks of harm and physical illness engendered by living on the streets, enhance quality of life and return as many as possible of our clients to work and residing in the Portland communities," Dr Paul S. Rhodes, PRM medical director and chairman of the board, said.