THA health secretary: Counselling can help men

Health Secretary and PNM Tobago Council leader Tracy Davidson-Celestine said her division will provide men with the counselling required to constructively cope with negative emotions. Davidson-Celestine made the commitment in a press release on Sunday.

The Division of Health, Wellness and Family Development commissioned the Blue Room in Scarborough in November 2019. The Blue Room was envisioned as a safe haven for men to air their feelings, exchange ideas, get health advice and access health services.

The counselling aspect of the Blue Room services is being handled by BMEN, an organisation geared towards the upliftment of men. Caribbean co-ordinator, International Men's Day and BMEN president Michael Stewart told Newsday on Sunday, the covid19 pandemic has restricted face-to-face engagement but work is still being done.

He said a discussion was recently held with a group of juvenile boys on making good decisions and consequences.

Stewart said he has noticed men are more willing to come forward for counselling especially when prompted by their partners.

Violence against women continues to be a national problem and was highlighted by the murder of teenager Ashanti Riley, who was found dead in Santa Cruz after she went missing on November 29.

Davidson-Celestine called on men to “protect our women, to see the women in society as your mothers, your sisters, your daughters and to give them the support that they need.”

She said her division will also provide treatment for mental illnesses.

She added, “This is a job for all of us to help eradicate violence against women. It’s the surviving loved ones who live with the emotional scars and pain that never go away. This responsibility is all of ours. We have to end this. Every life lost to this kind of brutality is unacceptable.”

The PNM Tobago Council said it is taking a stance against domestic violence. All the party’s prospective candidates for the Tobago House of Assembly election lit a candle on Thursday at the election office for Plymouth/Golden Lane in solidarity with victims of domestic violence, especially women who have brutally lost their lives.