Street People Liberation Foundation – Giving the homeless a second chance

CATEGORY: Special Award: Voluntary Service & Other

The Street People Liberation Foundation is set to receive a well-deserved recognition and honour for being a source of contentment and a refuge of hope for the homeless living on the streets of Montego Bay, St James, and Kingston since it began operating in 2014.

Supported by approximately 300 volunteers, the non-profit organisation has gone the extra mile in ensuring that its clients are rehabilitated and subsequently reunited with their families.

As a result, the organisation is being specially recognised with an RJRGLEANER Honour Award in the category of Voluntary Service & Other for its work in uplifting, supporting and rehabilitating society’s most vulnerable individuals.

“It is a blessing to have persons see that you are doing something; and then to be recognised by The Gleaner a second time in a row is really a distinguished honour for me,” said Ashli-Ann Broughton Jackson, director of the Street People Liberation Foundation (SPLF).

She said SPLF, a second-chance organisation, is aimed at assisting homeless persons across the island by way of rehabilitation and reintegrating them with their families.

“Right now, we are partnering with homeless shelters to help in the reintegration and rehabilitation process, to ensure that these persons get a second chance in life,” said Broughton Jackson, a 2022 recipient of The Gleaner’s Flair Distinguished Woman Award.

She noted that while many people are fearful of the homeless, at Street People Liberation Foundation, their goal is to engage them in order to better understand why they are living on the streets and provide assistance through meals, clothing and counselling.

“Fear is not something that’s in my vocabulary. I believe that these persons may be homeless due to a number of circumstances,” stated Broughton Jackson, who is also a 2020 recipient of the Prime Minister’s Youth Award for Excellence.

“Sixty per cent of those on the streets right now could be as a result of mental illness and as a mental illness advocate, I have to ensure that I spread the good word and ensure that these persons get a second chance in life,” she said.

“It could be divorce, it could be deportation,” argued Broughton Jackson, who is a third-year Bachelor of Science candidate in Logistics and Supply Chain Management at the Caribbean Maritime University. “It could be so many things, other than mental illness.”

The RJRGLEANER Honour Award is being presented to SPLF 12 years after the non-profit organisation was established. This special award has also come approximately 23 years after 33 homeless persons who were living on the streets of the western tourism city of Montego Bay were forcefully removed and dumped near a mud lake in St Elizabeth.

The communications group recognises the initiative, accomplishment, and courage of people and organisations that contributed significantly to improving Jamaica’s quality of life at any time over a 12-month period, including work that is likely to bring about such a change in the immediate future.

INTERESTING FACTS

• Ashli-Ann Broughton Jackson loves underwater clean-up and diving.

• She loves cycling.

• Graphic designing and marketing are among her favourites.

• She is low-key and simple.

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS

• Ashli-Ann Broughton Jackson earned the Prime Minister Youth Award for Excellence in 2020.

• She was recognised as one of The Gleaner’s Flair Distinguished Women in 2022.

• She earned the Rotary Award for Service Above Self.

• She is overjoyed seeing homeless persons reintegrated into society.

BUCKET LIST

• Ashli-Ann Broughton Jackson hopes to find ideal locations to establish Street People Liberation Foundation shelters.

• She wants to expand SPLF shelter operations into rural Jamaica.

• The humanitarian wants to engage more youth as volunteers in caring for the homeless.

• The SPLF director hopes to expand into Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago.

• She hopes to participate in a major underwater clean-up project.