Dear Editor,

Prime Minister Andrew Holness last week announced at the third annual National Day of Prayer at the National Arena in Kingston that he will be pursuing a direct and deliberate programme with churches to have a more robust intervention to support mental health across the country.

The jaded among us may respond to such announcement with cynicism and scepticism, if for no other reason than the 2021 Caribbean Policy Research Institute (Capri) report, which questioned any significant impact of social intervention programmes on violence indicators in Jamaica over a 10-year period. Never mind that the report cited the absence of an effective monitoring and evaluation system as the main issue and not the inherent value of the social programmes themselves.

Admittedly, Prime Minister Holness’s idea is devoid of novelty and may have a vintage akin to the age of independent Jamaica. However, for the Church and other faith-based organisations like the Word Reach Foundation, the news rings with welcome reverberation. It supports the continuing transformative efforts of the Church and promotes its utility as a neutral (non-partisan) agent of social change.

It is a fact that most people with mental illnesses are not involved in violence. If that were true, the vast majority of us who were home-bound during the COVID-19 pandemic and condemned to 13-inch screens for long hours at a time, for reasons dictated by our schools or places of work, would probably be in the penitentiary today. However, as the American Psychological Association noted in the April 2022 edition of its journal, there is a correlation, and a growing body of research is helping to tease apart why some people with serious mental illness are prone to violence while others are not.

As academics continue their investigations, I am heartened by observations that were made by the United Nations and its partners at the Together to #Endviolence Solutions Summit in 2021. At that event, the End Violence Partnership noted that, “Faith-based organisations and communities make a unique and critical contribution to the elimination of violence against children.” It added that, “By working across parts of the society, faith-based actors play a powerful role shaping positive attitudes, behaviours, and social norms to prevent and respond to violence.” Meanwhile, the Center for American Action released a report one year ago stating that, “Religious communities play a significant role in efforts to reduce gun violence.” Furthermore, collaborative initiatives with the Church can create a virtuous cycle where the results from interventions that lead to reductions in violence can, in turn, improve mental health.

We may lack the empirical evidence as a country to support the aforementioned assertions, but most churches across the length and breadth of Jamaica can provide rich servings of anecdotes as credible defence. I am optimistic that a partnership with the Church that results in the provision of better mental health supports for our people can influence the violence levels in the society in a positive way. The Word Reach Foundation, an outreach arm of the Church of God (Seventh Day) Willowdene, stands ready to back the initiative to the extent of its capacity. We are a registered charity which seeks to contribute to the holistic development of Jamaicans through psychosocial, educational, and personal development projects. Any Jamaican, including single parents, the indigent, children in need, troubled males, and the elderly, living in or outside Jamaica with verifiable needs, as per the foundation’s objectives, can benefit from our organisation.

Our ongoing projects in the parish of St Catherine show that psychosocial interventions promote a sense of safety, calm, self and community efficacy, social connectedness, and hope, which can help reduce and address the disputes that lead to antisocial tendencies. If we have enough of these initiatives with appropriate reinforcements, we will be able to shift the value systems in a new direction and produce more positive behaviour in our people.

When the prime minister is ready to fine-tune the details of his plan, we will be ready to sit at the table or be a conduit to get the work done.

Kevin Bell

President, Word Reach Foundation

wordreachfoundation@gmail.com