Waterford police launch elderly care soup kitchen

The St Catherine South police, as part of its divisional priority to engage stakeholders and the various communities in Portmore, has launched an outreach initiative in the form of an elderly care soup kitchen at the Waterford Police Station.

The initiative, conceptualised by Detective Inspector Pilmar Powell, who oversees the Waterford Police Station, will provide meals for shut-ins and the elderly in Waterford.

Some 170 elderly people were served with soup, a salad, and a main course on Wednesday, February 22.

“Everybody needs a sense of belonging and oftentimes elderly persons come to the station and indicate that they have no food, so this initiative is designed to feed these persons,” Powell told The Gleaner.

She continued: “We first engaged the citizens associations and the political leaders in the division along with some corporate entities to come on board. At this point we are grateful for Jamaica Broilers and GraceKennedy, which both answered the call.”

Powell says persons were chosen from various citizens associations to perform the duties of runners so the elderly who are shut-in could be reached.

The Waterford top officer, who is also a trained family counsellor and currently pursuing her master’s degree in forensic psychology, says that she was moved by God to initiate the project.

“I am just a vessel. Whenever the Lord leads me in a direction I humble myself and follow,” she declared.

Meanwhile, senior superintendent in charge of the St Catherine South police, Christopher Phillips, said all the station commanders were tasked to come up with innovative ways of engaging the various communities.

“This is one of the many that we are doing in Waterford, which has been active in terms of their support to the police,” Phillips said. He said the initiative shows another side to the police who have always been perceived as aggressive.

“We want to use this as another strategy to connect with the communities to build the trust and the relationships going forward,” Phillips added. The St Catherine South command has also initiated a periodic virtual town hall meeting to give citizens an opportunity to engage in discussions about the policing of their neighbourhoods.