Riverton Family Centre

Riverton is considered to be one of Kingston's poorest neighborhoods and according to various sources it is cited to have anywhere from 2500 to 4600 inhabitants, with numbers being hard to determine because of the high mobility of its population.

Riverton is located on the Kingston City garbage dump and consists, for the most part, of one-room huts built from tin sheets that are held together by wire and often times do not survive the hurricane season. Most do not have running water and few have electricity. The electricity lines are often illegal makeshift wires laid by residents, leading to frequent fires in the neighborhood. (source)

Many residents of Riverton sustain themselves through the useable items they can find and sell among the garbage that is brought in by trucks several times a day. (see article)

The two canals that run through the neighborhood often overflow during the rainy season and carry human sewage and disease into the neighborhood.

Crime rates in Riverton are among the highest in Kingston, a city with an already high crime rate and the highest murder rate in the world.

The St. Patrick Foundation's Riverton Early Childhood Center provides Riverton with an elementary school and a health clinic. It serves the function of a community center.

It is in this location that the Family Center will be set up to try and contribute to the alleviation of some of the community's problems such as school drop-out rates and teenage pregnancy.