“Operation 500 roofs”, work has started in Quartier d’Orléans

A major concern for President Daniel Gibbs and elected officials: putting a roof over the heads of the most deprived and vulnerable populations who have not yet been able to begin securing their homes. And this, as soon as possible. Thus, during the vote on the initial budget of the Community last April, 5 million euros were dedicated to this large-scale operation, the first work of which began at the beginning of July.

Two poles of the Community piloted this operation. First of all, identification work was carried out upstream by the solidarity and families center of the Community, of which the 3rd vice-president Annick Petrus is in charge. Some 440 households, mainly made up of elderly people, people with disabilities or even households with children under 3 years old, and mainly located in the Sandy Ground and Quartier d'Orléans districts, were identified eligible for this system. Then, the Sustainable Development division, which is under the control of 4th vice-president Steven Patrick, awarded the necessary contracts to select the companies participating in the operation. Four local public works companies were commissioned to produce these roof coverings and three local material suppliers, with whom the Community “opened an account” for the roofing companies to obtain materials.

As of the last week of July, the first work took place at Elise, 91 years old, for her house in Quartier d'Orléans, located just behind the Catholic church, including the roof and the openings were literally blown out by the hurricane. Since then, and while waiting to be able to return to live at home, Elise has been staying with her daughter, named Irma…

The construction sites should follow one another throughout the summer so that the maximum of these 440 homes can be covered a roof and that families can start living with dignity again.

President Gibbs, during the last Territorial Council (July 11), wished to recall that he had done everything possible to ensure that this operation to become true. It was not possible to carry out this work earlier, as it was necessary to wait for the budget vote in April to commit these 5 million euros, develop the most appropriate system and then award the contracts. corresponding public bodies within the mandatory legal deadlines.