Becky Stockhausen (left), executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce, and Prime Minister P.J. Patterson (centre) listen to Robert Olson, technical adviser at the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF). Occasion was a tour yesterday of the model community policing and services facility being constructed on the grounds of the Edna Manley Health Centre in Grants Pen, St. Andrew. - RICARDO MAKYN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
LANDS AT 35 Grants Pen Road in St. Andrew, which formerly housed the Edna Manley Health Centre, will by August be transformed into a community policing and health facility.
The transformation is being made possible through the financial assistance of 20 local private sector companies, which have donated a sum of $120 million to build the facility.
The complex was conceived out of recommendations from the United States-based Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) report of 2001 and will include a health centre, police station, postal service, an ATM machine, a facility to pay bills and community meeting rooms.
The residents, who were instrumental in making the dream a reality, were seen yesterday bending their backs in the hot sun as they work to meet the August deadline.
According to Becky Stockhausen, the executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) which is spearheading the project, 75 of the 80 workers on the site are residents of the community.
She said that not only has the project provided jobs for the jobless, but it has also spawned friendships among residents who are known to be staunch supporters of either the People's National Party (PNP) or the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).
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Mrs. Stockhausen said that what was commendable about the construction of the facility was that "both the JLP and PNP supporters have put down their swords and are working together to make it a reality. We really have come a long way," she told The Gleaner.
Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, who toured the site yesterday, also endorsed the project. He said that it was important that Grants Pen be restored to being a community where peace abides.
