Tonight, a heartbreaking situation is unfolding on our island.
A 64-year-old male amputee—who lost his right foot in a road traffic accident years ago—has found himself homeless after being put out on the street two weeks earlier than the court-ordered date of December 1st.
Bailiffs arrived unexpectedly, packed his belongings, and put him out.
Now he is pleading for help—from the public, from the government, from anyone who can intervene.
This is the story of Kent Ming, a lifelong resident of St. George’s, who has lived in the east end all his life. Tonight, with nowhere to go, Kent is forced to explain how everything went wrong despite his efforts to prevent this outcome.
• Kent speaks in his own words:
“My landlord has been trying to get the apartment for a while. Mind you, it’s been a while, but I’ve had no success.
I got letters from Bermuda Housing Corporation. I got letters from other organizations for my landlord. I even had Age Concern come down—they gave me a letter.
It wasn’t like I wasn’t trying to find another apartment.”
• Kent describes the reality of being an amputee:
“I have no right foot. I can’t get around like most people who say, ‘let me jump up and go check this.’
So I turned to my friend for help.”
Whenever he found possible apartments, he shared them with the landlord’s husband:
“A few opportunities I did come across, I even shared with her husband—the landlord.
He went to have a gander himself and came back and said, ‘They’ve been taken over. They’re gone.’
So I was losing out on opportunities.
It wasn’t like I wasn’t trying. I just couldn’t get a break. I couldn’t get a break. I couldn’t get a break.”
His landlord had been pressing him to leave since January or early February of this year. But the island’s housing situation made it almost impossible:
“The island is so, so delinquent of apartments—one-bedroom apartments especially— which is all I would have needed, which is what I was in.”
He went to court to state his case and was granted a small extension:
“I got a little small extension from Magistrate Chin. But he never got to see where I was trying. Other people were aware of my situation. In fact, the Housing Corporation was aware—my situation wasn’t rare, but a priority one.”
• Kent requires a wheelchair-accessible unit:
“They knew the only thing they were trying to get was a house with a ramp for me, because I utilize a wheelchair. But we weren’t having any luck.”
He says the process stretched on and on. And in the end, he never got to present his documents in court:
“I never got to share my documents in court, like I said. I was in touch with these people. I was trying.” Now, tonight, he has nowhere to go.
A 64-year-old amputee, placed out on the street two weeks before the agreed court deadline, despite steady financial support and documented efforts to secure housing.
Ming was told he is not eligible to enroll in any of the seniors living accommodation because he is not 65 years old, he stated he goes 65 next year, the individual stated policy is policy.
He is crying out for help—from the public, from community agencies, from any government representative who can intervene immediately.
Kent Ming does not want sympathy.
He wants shelter.
He wants safety.
And tonight, he needs someone to hear him.
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