No set date for reopening of Boys Training School

Boys Training School

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While work is said to be nearing completion for the Boys Training School there is still no set date for when the facility will be reopened.

The painting of the structure is said to be the only delay due to heavy rainfall.

“The Boys Training School will be open shortly. I can’t give you a precise date because on which it is top be open would have to be with the concurrence of several of the stakeholders,” Chief of Staff In the Prime Minister’s Office Lionel Hurst explained on Thursday morning.

It’s been more than four years since plans were released for major renovations to be done to the juvenile facility, but it was delayed for some time.

The institution has been in a deplorable state for quite some time.

The building has been empty since the onset of the Covid pandemic, and since then, two youngsters stole most of its contents worth almost $20,000.

With major funds being directed towards its refurbishment, the Willikies structure which houses delinquent boys between the ages of 10 and 18 is in its final stages.

The reopening of the facility is a call that has echoed across the twin island nation as a handful of minors are presently being held at His Majesty’s Prison.

Many professionals have voiced their concerns mentioning that for any sort of rehabilitation to occur for these troubled youth then the correct facilities equipped with the right tools and programs would need to be in place.

HMP, they mentioned, would not be suitable.

There are presently around three minors being housed at HMP while others have been placed back into their parents care but even while in the care of parents, some still are left unsupervised.