Last night we showed you the story of Bernadine Fitzgibbon who collapsed as she was in the area of Social Security and the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. By anyone's guess, seeing her roaming the streets of Belize City you'd think she's homeless. Today however one organization who's assisted Bernadine, Hands in Hands Ministries, came forward to say that she's not. Back in 2005 they built a house for her in Hattieville, but a house is not a home as Bernard Panton assistant director of Hands in Hands Ministries explains.
Bernard Panton, Hands in Hands Ministry
"Bernadine came to Hands in Hands to seek assistance for her because she needed a home and so we actually built a home for her in Hattieville because that is what Hands in Hands does, we build homes for needy people and so we did that for her in Hattieville.
We found out that she had rented out that house for a little while and so she had some problems with the law and we tried to help her to get back into that house and so at the present moment, she might visit the house from time to time but the house is still up there and it is on her land and so I think we might have to do some further investigation to see exactly what is happening at this present time.
What we saw was that Bernadine never stayed at home and she would always leave Hattieville where she has her home and come into the city and she would hang out in the park and we also gave her medical assistance at the Hands in Hands Outreach Center where we also took care of some of her kids. In the beginning when the center opened in 2005 we took care of two of her kids and we could have gotten them transferred to the CDC in St. Martin's Deporess Area where they could attend school and go into the mainstream with the other children.
She continues to stay on the street and to be out there and so I don't know exactly what is her problem but I know that it is hard for us to keep her or to help her to stay in her home to live a normal life."
Alfonso Noble Reporting,
Who is to basically hold her hand and guide her through society?
Bernard Panton,
"As a nation I think it is everybody's responsibility and mainly the people who work in social work which we do. There is the Human Development which is the government and they are the ones that mainly would start the rolling. And I know that she has been affiliated with Human Development for some years and all the Human Services Organizations and anybody in that area that need to help people like Bernadine. She is a difficult person to work with and it is not something that I think she does in way that she just wants to do it, it is just her personality and I think that is where she needs help."
Bernadine visited our offices today to tell us that she was treated at the KHMH and has since been released.
