World Habitat Day 2018

More than 30 years ago, the United Nations General Assembly took an important step in promoting the idea that everyone deserves a decent place to live by declaring that the first Monday in October would be World Habitat Day. On Monday, Oct. 1, 2018, Habitat for Humanity Trinidad and Tobago joins with our partners and affiliates around the world to rededicate ourselves to recognizing the basic right of everyone to adequate shelter.

The situation is dire, especially for the families of people with disabilities, the LGBTQ communities and people living with HIV & AIDS. This is why we, at Habitat Trinidad-Tobago, have launched a nationwide survey and petition to change the policies and legislation that make it impossible for the most vulnerable residents to find decent and affordable housing. Throughout October – Habitat Month – we will bring this issue to national attention.

Habitat for Humanity is working to improve access to affordable housing and land tenure for persons with disabilities in Trinidad and Tobago. We ask the Minister of Housing to allow disabled landowners to apply for special assistance for housing, and provide emergency housing for those evicted because of their gender or HIV status. Please share/promote this PETITION LINK: https://chn.ge/2wJIuY7

We are also trying to find out about the experiences of members of vulnerable groups in accessing housing. Please share and promote this SURVEY LINK: https://goo.gl/forms/5A77aq1c1PXn3CH62

Our Advocacy Build is constructing a home for Andy, a Deaf resident of Princes Town; everyone is invited to join us on Saturday 13 October from 9am, when a gathering of prominent and influential leaders from government and the diplomatic corps, business and academia, the arts and civil society to help andy move into a safe, stable and familiar environment where he can live independently.

(Habitat Trinidad-Tobago is working in collaboration with the Caribbean Policy Development (NGO) Centre to improve access to Housing and Land Tenure for Vulnerable Groups – the Disabled, People living with HIV/AIDS and the Gender Communities.)

We ask our supporters to come together as one country to declare that:

• Every one of us deserves the opportunity for a better future.
• A decent place to live can remove barriers to opportunity, health and success that might have been part of a family’s life for years, and in many cases for generations.

Seventy-five percent of people in the world lack proper documentation for the land on which they live. Further, in Trinidad and Tobago, one in 4 families struggle to meet their rental commitments, often sacrificing good nutrition and medication or health care in order to keep a roof over their heads. Without land, there can be no housing, and housing is the key to stability and opportunity. In 2016, Trinidad and Tobago joined over 150 governments to agree to the New Urban Agenda as a global framework highlighting the need for urban policies to emphasize housing, focus on secure tenure and prioritize community-led development, and we must ensure governments are held accountable to their commitments.

To learn more, visit https://www.habitat-tt.orgwhat-are-we-doing-now/