By Val Matthias. Updated 12:22 p.m., Tuesday, March 10, 2026, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).
Minister of Family and Gender Affairs, Persons with Disabilities, and Labour, Laverne Gibson-Velox, has once again called for the establishment of a safe home for women in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, stressing that survivors of abuse remain without shelter six years after the Guadalupe Home was destroyed by fire.
Speaking recently, Minister Gibson-Velox underscored the gap in services: “What I would really love to see happen is that there is a safe home for women, we don’t have that. There was the Guadalupe home that was burnt. It hasn’t been rebuilt. So, you know, that we have a shortfall and the need is great.”
Her ministry is preparing to relocate offices later this year to improve confidentiality for counselling sessions, but she emphasized that without a safe home, women in crisis continue to face dangerous gaps in protection.
This is not the first time Minister Gibson-Velox has raised the issue. During her maiden budget debate presentation in January 2026, she highlighted the same need while presenting her ministry’s EC$17.47 million allocation. At that time, she described her budget as lean but designed to “deliver hope” by harmonizing social services. The call for a safe home was framed as part of a broader push to strengthen family resilience and protect vulnerable groups.
The Our Lady of Guadalupe Home for Girls in Cane End, Mesopotamia, was destroyed by fire on March 30, 2020. At the time, the facility housed 13 girls and a house mother. The home was never rebuilt, leaving St. Vincent without a permanent shelter for vulnerable women and girls.
By repeating her appeal now, Minister Gibson-Velox has placed the issue squarely back on the national agenda. Her ministry’s allocation of EC$17.47 million supports integrated social services, but she made clear that collaboration with civil society and the private sector is needed to finally deliver a safe haven for women.
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