NASSAU, The Bahamas -- The Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development wishes to advise the general public that the Ministry has entered into an agreement with Poinciana Inn that will help to further reduce the number of persons residing in the two remaining shelters located at the Kendal G.L. Isaacs Gymnasium and The Bahamas Academy Auditorium.

The Agreement for the transitional accommodation is for 90 days, and will allow for the use of 50 rooms at the Poinciana Inn as part of the Ministry’s continued efforts to relocate and or/provide transitional housing for persons displaced by Hurricane Dorian.  Families will receive first consideration in order to provide them with the requisite privacy.

It is anticipated that the final transition to their respective islands and/or other housing will be completed within the 90-day period.

The Ministry and other partners were initially charged with housing more than 2,000 persons in shelters in New Providence, Grand Bahama, Abaco, Eleuthera and Andros as a result of the devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian in parts of the Northern Bahamas, but particularly areas of Abaco and Grand Bahama.

Efforts to reduce the number of persons housed in those shelters in a humane manner, in what became the greatest humanitarian relief and aid effort in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, have resulted in a reduction in the number of persons housed to less than the 400 persons that currently reside in the Kendal G.L. Isaacs Gymnasium and The Bahamas Academy Auditorium.

“The Ministry’s additional search for transitional accommodations resulted in negotiations with Poinciana Inn for a total of 50 rooms. The objective is to place families in those rooms -- which will afford them the privacy that families need.

“All of the necessary due diligence was completed by Technical Teams from the Ministry of Social Services and Urban Development, the Department of Social Services and the Department of Gender and Family Affairs, in addition to a number of other government ministries, prior to entering into the Agreement with the Poinciana Inn.”