Policy on rehabilitation of street families launched

Street Families Rehabilitation Trust Fund has launched the National Policy on rehabilitating street families.

This policy offers a comprehensive and sustainable framework for addressing the rehabilitation needs of street families.

A cabinet Memorandum on the National Policy on Rehabilitation of Street Families 2023 says:

"To effectively support these families, we need well-planned and comprehensive strategies, all of which are addressed in this policy."

The policy says finalizing and implementing it are crucial steps towards realizing their vision of a country free of street families.

A survey conducted in 2018 showed that Nairobi was the leading county with street families and a population of 15,337.

It was followed by Mombasa 7,529, Kisumu 2,746, Uasin Gishu 2,147, Nakuru 2005 and other 42 counties with a total of 16,875.

"Over time, uncoordinated and unstructured interventions have hampered the effective design of strategies programmes and the implementation of interventions," the policy says.

It says the existence of a framework guiding the coordination of rescue, rehabilitation, reintegration, resocialization and prevention interventions for street families is incoherent.

The policy says there is a need for a coherent and holistic framework to support the realization of Chapter 4 of the Constitution regarding street families specifically in preventing the occurrence of street families, rescuing, rehabilitating, reintegrating and resocializing them.

It says over time governance and accountability mechanisms in the rehabilitation of street families have remained weak.

"Furthermore, there is a weak mechanism and resilience support in response to pandemics, disasters and hazards to facilitate the realization of sustainable livelihoods for street families," says the policy.

This policy was therefore developed through intense consultation led by a National steering committee from the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, Office of the AG and Council of Governors.

"The proposed policy was subjected to public participation in 35 counties," it said.

The counties are Meru, Isiolo, Kirinyaga, Nyeri, Kajiado, Nairobi, Kisii, Migori, Kisumu, Vihiga, Turkana, Uasin Gishu, Mombasa, Bungoma, Garissa, Kilifi, Kwale, Elgeiyo Marakwet, Nandi, Taita Taveta, Trans nzoia, Machakos among others.

The policy revealed that in accordance with Article 10 of the Constitution, there are push and pull factors in the community that called for prevention, while on the street they faced hardships that necessitate rescue rehabilitation and reintegration.