The Guyana Foundation, as part of its ongoing programme to tackle the issues of mental health stigma, domestic violence and suicide prevention, recently hosted a series of workshops, training sessions and community outreaches on the Essequibo Coast and Georgetown.
The seminars, which commenced on November 30th and ran for a few weeks, expanded on training previously conducted by Guyanese-Canadian psychotherapist Lauren Johnson, who returned to impart the necessary practical and foundational skills to the targeted stakeholders, a press release from the Foundation said.
Activities included an interactive exercise on mental health stigma held at the Suddie Public Hospital on the Essequibo Coast, attended by local teachers, police officers, hospital staff and members of the Region 2 Working Suicide Prevention Group; and a one-day domestic violence workshop in Sophia, which was jointly hosted by the Love and Faith Church and Agape Network.
This was followed by a three-day training exercise for volunteers of the Guyana Foundation in Georgetown, and another session conducted by Johnson at the Queenstown Secondary School. Community outreaches were held on Pigeon Island on the East Coast of Demerara and Devonshire Castle on the Essequibo Coast.
Meanwhile, the Foundation recently made a donation of a 32-inch flat screen TV, two fans and five large posters to the medical ward at the Suddie Public Hospital, which the organisation has adopted.
Anthony Autar, Managing Director of the Guyana Foundation, expressed gratitude to all the financial donors and partners who made the recent events possible. He opined that it is imperative that the issues of mental health and suicide be addressed urgently. Consequently, the Foundation will be intensifying its efforts and will unveil an array of programmes scheduled for 2016 in the forthcoming weeks.
