 The rollout of the Government of St. Lucia's latest income support program 2023 under the safety nets for vulnerable populations affected by the coronavirus project is set to begin. Spareheaded by the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment, the project is financed by the Inter-American Development Bank, the IDB, and administered through the Caribbean Development Bank, the CDB. The main aim of the income support program is to provide much-needed financial assistance to households or persons from the informal sector who continue to experience the lingering challenges of COVID-19 but did not benefit from any cash transfer programs. The income support program underscores Government's commitment to ensure that everyone is accounted for. This kind of support is in keeping with the Ministry's mandate to offer empowerment, support, and also to help build resilience among our service users. The set criteria take into consideration non-NIC contributors who lost their source of income because of COVID-19 or became unemployed or momentarily received no salary because of prolonged illness due to COVID-19 and did not benefit from any previous COVID-19 support programs such as the ERP or ISP in 2020. Also eligible are households applying for a child or ward aged 12 and under whose parent or guardians demise was deemed a COVID-19 related death. As part of criteria 1, applicants must upload a letter of redundancy or any other proof of income loss due to COVID-19. People applying based on prolonged illness must upload a medical certificate or letter from a doctor stating illness due to COVID-19. Individuals applying on behalf of a child or ward must upload the birth certificate of the child or children and a death certificate of the parent or guardian who died due to COVID-19 as well as means of verification of guardianship or parenthood. Eligible applicants will receive a one-time payment of $1,500 per household. The income support program 2023 rollout begins September 19 and will run for six weeks. To apply, visit the Government of St. Lucia's website. The deadline for submissions of completed application forms is November 6, 2023. Applicants can also access the internet services at the ICD centres in Garo, Morsi, Ancelary, Soufre, Viewfort and Miku between the hours of 9am to 4pm. For more information on the program, contact the Ministry of Equity via telephone number 468-5108 or email at pssec.equity at govt.lc.