A place to finally call home

After several years of living in a virtually unliveable structure, 64-year-old St Thomas resident, Beverly Mattison, now has a modern dwelling she is proud to call home.

On June 4, a special church service marked her occupation of her new concrete-made home and her return to Pleasant Walk in the Leith Hall district, a place she missed dearly.

Mattison’s new home is a major improvement over the previous board structure she had occupied and painted pink to make the best of her circumstances.

“I am overjoyed and thankful because when I was in the board house I had to bathe and cook outside, so I am feeling very happy to get this new home. There is more space and it offers more security, especially from extreme weather events like hurricanes,” Mattison also shared.

Her joy was made possible through donations sought and organised by the JN Sports and Social Club (JNSSC), which, on Labour Day, May 23, made Mattison’s hope a reality, as the club brought together members of the JN Foundation, the Rotaract Club of Kingston and Rotaract Club of New Kingston as well as employees from Kingston-based restaurant, Uncorked, to complete the finishing touches to the home she longed for.

“I feel so good,” were the only words a content Mattison could muster, as she watched the scores of volunteers beautify the walls of her new home.

Led by Jamar Howell, the current chairman of the JNSSC, work on the new structure had started just before the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, following a visit to Mattison’s old home. He had met her while working at JN Bank in the St Thomas capital, Morant Bay.

“She would always bring bananas to the branch,” he recalled. “And one day I had to make a visit to her home [one day], and seeing how she lived impacted me so much that I decided to do something about it. I made an appeal for donations on WhatsApp and over $3 million was raised there,” he said.

In total, Howell said approximately $4 million in donations were received and used to construct the home and outfit it with modern fixtures. The windows on the new building were donated by the Rotaract Club of New Kingston.

For the Rotaract clubs, giving back to communities remains a key part of their mission and for its membership, partnering on the activity was a no-brainer.

Rewarding experience

President of the Rotaract Club of Kingston, Toni-Moy Stewart, described it as “a worthy cause”, while for one member of the New Kingston club, Nicketa Watson, the experience was rewarding, especially because they were assisting to transform someone’s environment.

“For anyone coming from less space to this, it is a blessing in disguise so we were happy to help out in any way we could,” added marketing and communications officer at Uncorked, Robyn-Kay Campbell.

Over the past three years, the JNSSC also received support from the Jamaica Biscuit Company, several JN Group employees, and independent building contractors from as far as Spanish Town, St Catherine, to construct the new house for Ms Mattison.

While work took place, the St Thomas resident lived at a temporary accommodation elsewhere in the parish, also organised by Howell.

“It is with pride that we at the JN Group have been able to help another member to find their way and achieve their purpose,” he expressed. “I know she was very anxious to come back home because she has her neighbours and family around this area and she was really displaced to another community for a while,” he added.

Corporate banking specialist at JN Bank and JNSCC vice chair (Social), Michelle Webster Gauntlette, declared that “it’s always a good feeling when we reach out to the community we serve in this way because it shows that JN is here to assist when needed.”

A comfortable house can be a great source of happiness and Beverly Mattison sees it as her start to a better way of life. She’s now moving to further furnish the new space and add decorative elements based on her own tastes.

“I like nice pretty things, including flowers, and I will be fixing up the place how I want it as time goes by,” the pleased new homeowner divulged.