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Frustrated father seeks help to care for family

Published:Wednesday | March 21, 2018 | 12:00 AMTamara Bailey
Andrew Scott hugs his sposue.

MANDEVILLE, Manchester:

It is extremely difficult for a man to feel as though he isn't adequately caring for his family though he is trying to do all that is humanly possible.

Forty-eight-year-old Andrew Scott, father of four (one deceased), has had some heavy cards dealt on his table, but he knows giving up is not an option.

With the death of his two-year-old daughter, his partner mentally unable to function normally, and three children who rely on him daily, Scott is seeking help to ensure that he is able to continue caring for them.

Two years ago, Scott was in Kingston trying to earn for his family when he got the call that would soon change his life forever.

"I got a call in the morning that the baby is not waking up. They said they were trying to shake the baby and the baby wouldn't wake up. When they brought my baby girl to the doctor, they said the baby had choked to death in her sleep," Scott told Family and Religion.

He continued: "I have not recovered. My little baby gone so. I would always look forward to seeing her when I get home from work, that is when I leave Kingston and come home in Clarendon."

The part-time mechanic, who also does odd jobs to make ends meet, says that since the ordeal, his partner has not been able to help him the way she could to care for their children ages 12, 10, and nine.

"My partner has not been the same since the death of our daughter. It hit her bad because, you know, that is her young one. Sometimes I see her and she not behaving like herself. How she used to be is like she is no more. It has messed with her brain, and when I suggest to her that we may need to get medical treatment for her, she denies that she needs the help, but I will have to push because I know what is happening ... . "It rough, man. See right now is me alone and the kids dem haffi go to school and certain things not working out," Scott lamented.

He said that because of the traumatic experience of losing their child, they had to relocate as the daily reminders were too much to bear.

"I know someone who has an unfinished house in Mandeville and asked us to stay there, so that is where we are right now. I can't get too comfortable here either because at any moment, they can tell me they are ready for them place."

 

FEARFUL ENCOUNTER

 

Just a few months ago, Scott said he had an unnecessary encounter with the police, which has caused him to feel fearful and out of place.

"I came out early one morning and the supermarket wasn't open, so I was walking around the park closer to the police station side, hoping a vendor would be nearby so I could get my daughter, who was with me some breakfast. I heard a voice say 'Aye, man! Come yah!' When I looked, it was an officer by the police station, so I walked over to him. He asked me where I come from, and me tell him Westmoreland. He asked me if I have an ID on me, and I told him no I don't have it on me, but I have it "

Scott said that the police officer then instructed him to leave his daughter at the station and return home for the ID. When he refused, he was threatened and verbally abused.

"He pushed me and put the child inside and my daughter was crying 'Daddy! Daddy!' Another police came and say him wi lick out me teeth dem out a me stink mouth, and another came on and say him wi box me dung a grung," the father related.

Scott, who feared leaving his daughter, eventually had to return home when the verbal and attempted physical abuse became too much.

"I went home and came back with her mother, and I explained to the officer what I was doing around that area. After I gave him my ID, he returned it and said, 'You fi have you ID pon you, bwoy'.

Scott said he feels like a man out of place as things could have got worse. Nonetheless, he says he is pressing on

"It's tough because I am the breadwinner and it's three of them. Sometimes they don't go to school on a regular basis because I don't have the money. I am a hard worker, and if I can get a steady job, I will work to provide for my family. I just need a start," said Scott.

To lend assistance to Scott, call Yvonne Townsend, director of Friends in Need Safe Home, at (876) 421- 3453.