ADOLESCENTS who use the Half-Way-Tree Transport Centre in St Andrew now have a safe and healthy space where they can do their homework and conduct research, while benefiting from counselling and other services.

The newly renovated space, dubbed ‘Teen Hub’, is a collaborative effort of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information.

It is equipped with computers and other technology tools, and counselling staff will be on hand to provide guidance and health care information.

Speaking at the launch on Tuesday, Minister of Health Dr Christopher Tufton said projects like Teen Hub will play a vital role in helping to address issues facing young people, including crime, teen pregnancies, substance abuse, and suicides.

He noted that in addition to the computers, printers, televisions, educational video materials, and closed-circuit cameras, the facility is also equipped with a counselling room to facilitate voluntary and confidential counselling, and HIV testing as well as mental health support.

Peer educators, he said, will be available Monday to Friday between the hours of 8:30 am and 5:00 pm.

“Not to be ignored is the need for the maintenance of healthy lifestyle choices, which include avoiding harmful substances. These issues will also be addressed through the available channels here at the hub,” he pointed out.

Minister of state in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information Floyd Green said that the period of adolescence is a time when individuals tend to become engaged in risky practices.

“It is during this period that interventions become necessary in order to guide the teens, and this is why this hub and the support systems that are going to be put in place will be vital,” he said.

He further noted that the collaborative effort with the health ministry is particularly fruitful at a time when attention has to be paid to the overall well-being of Jamaica’s youth.

Teen Hub is located on the lower level of the transport centre.

— JIS