IN addition to providing support and empowerment to vulnerable groups, the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security (MHSSS) will continue to facilitate community engagements countrywide to provide further assistance and enhance its services.

Minister of Human Services, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, recently noted that, from 2020 to present, community engagements have been the mode her ministry has used to communicate with persons in hinterland and coastal areas.

According to the minister, community engagement provides them with direct feedback from those persons who utilise their systems, while also providing them with an idea of the policy direction.

It is through these many outreaches that the ministry knows how it can best serve the population, as well as how it can target a specific issue or problem that falls within the ambit of human services, social security and welfare.

The minister noted that it also allows the ministry to take very pertinent services directly to the people who will no longer need to visit the ministry’s offices.

She remarked: “Aside from all of that a wealth of information is passed on directly where persons can now have one-on-one interfaces with officers, with me, and with the ministry. We have seen, over the years, the forays into communities increasing. This year, we plan to have more than a hundred of these interventions, and we’ve already started,” she stated.

Furthermore, the minister said that data analysis is used to guide policy and intervention.

According to her, their data is collected through various systems such as the 914 domestic violence hotline.

Minister Persaud said that while data collection determines what they do, other services of the ministry are nor forsaken. She stated that while the focus might be on one thing, the other services offered by the ministry are included. That way, persons benefit holistically from information awareness and education, directly from the ministry.

Moreover, she pointed out that knowing the kind of data collected helps the ministry to be more preemptive, rather than reactionary. To refine this, the minister noted that this year, they will be collecting more data from people, which would impact policy and programming in 2024.