Homeless man gets keys to own two-bedroom house |25 January 2020

A beaming Mr Pointe, accompanied by her sister, leading President Faure and Minister Charlette on a tour of his new home (Photo: Thomas Meriton)

France Pointe, a homeless senior citizen with some mental health issues whom President Danny Faure came across roaming the streets of Victoria in July 2017, is now the owner of his own house.

Accompanied by his sister Ranalda Pointe Mwale, he received the keys to a small two-bedroom house at Serret Road yesterday morning.

It was the Minister for Habitat, Infrastructure and Land Transport Pamela Charlette who handed Mr Pointe the keys to his new house in the presence of President Faure who has been following Mr Pointe’s recovery and progress since he was touched by his plight when he first saw him dirty, barefoot and unkempt lying in the streets during one of his district visits.

After receiving his keys, Mr Pointe opened the door and led inside President Faure, Minister Charlette and representatives of various departments and agencies including the principal secretary for social affairs Linda William Melanie who have helped and accompanied him throughout his long journey to recovery and now to the door steps of his new house.

Mr Pointe then proceeded to sign the life tenancy agreement for the house which has been built by government on a small plot of land purchased from Mr Pointe’s family.

As per the agreement, Mr Pointe, who has no repayment to do, will live in the house until his death after which the house, which is being maintained by PMC (Property Management Company) will return to government.

A beaming but speechless Mr Pointe led President Faure and all the other guests on a tour of the house while stopping every now and then to admire the view of the Serret community from the verandah which overlooks the street down below or the view of Victoria stretching as far as the airport and this from the living room windows.

Minister Charlette stated that since he was picked up from the streets Mr Pointe has received a lot of support from different agencies as well as her ministry where he has gone through several processes before finally receiving the keys to a house he can call his own.

“We assisted him with part rental before we finally found the right alternative for him from his own family,” Minister Charlette said, noting that his case was a priority because he had nowhere to live and he was sleeping on the streets.

Minister Charlette pointed out that Mr Pointe’s case is one of many that her ministry together with various agencies work with to try and improve the social and living conditions of these individuals but it is very important that families also step in to do their part, a point which PS William Melanie also highlighted.

In fact she noted that Mr Pointe has been a social case since 2016 when he received social assistance and a place to sleep at the night shelter at North East Point but he continued to roam the streets during the day as he was not receiving much support from his family and he did not return to the shelter in the evenings.

“We continue to try and find a solution through his family which was not easy and with his mental impairment Mr Pointe insisted on roaming the streets until President Faure came across him sometime later,” PS Melanie explained. And after his sister learned the story through the press, she left Zambia to come and take care of her brother and has not gone back since.

“It is possible that if Mr Pointe’s sister was not touched by the plight of her brother leading her to leave her home in Zambia for good to come back and take care of her brother, probably today his story would have been different,” PS Melanie remarked.

At a time when a lot is being done by the authorities to help people faced with numerous social problems while around us families continue to fall apart as the social fabrics of our society continue to be eroded by numerous social ills, PS Melanie has once again called on families to come forward to help their own members who are finding themselves in social difficulties.

“Often it is not easy but families need to come together to give support. The story of Mr Pointe shows that when families are touched by the plight of one of their own members and come forward to help in spite of all differences, this results in something good and an improvement in their social situation,” PS Melanie stated.

Marie-Anne Lepathy