Ministry offers help to family of slain child, father

PEOPLE who find themselves unable to cope with their life situations should seek help which is readily available, urged Minister of Social Development and Family Services Camille Robinson-Regis on Monday.

Her statement came after Michael Maynard took his life after realising he had fatally beaten his daughter. The man and his eight-year-old child died on Sunday at Kelly Village. The minister offered her condolences.

She said the ability to admit the need for help is a sign of strength, not weakness and invited the families and friends of troubled persons to get help from her ministry.

Robinson-Regis said the ministry’s National Family Services was contacting Maynard’s family to provide counselling support, which is free of charge to individuals and households. People can also get counselling and psychosocial support from the ministry’s annual community-based parenting workshops held across various districts, she indicated. These events are tailored to equip participants with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to treat with issues such as adolescence, bullying, trends in technology and teenage pregnancy.

Robinson-Regis promised community outreach caravans throughout TT, with the next one due at the Pinto Road community in Arima on Wednesday. These caravans seek to bring the ministry’s services closer to the communities and notify residents of the many services on offer free of charge.

Robinson-Regis made a special appeal to men to seek the help they need in raising their children.

She said intimate partner violence and failed anger management are becoming more prevalent, with more men as perpetrators.

Robinson-Regis said the ministry would try to make its psychosocial support services available across TT, but said people must take responsibility to access the services they needed.