The head of the Barbados Alliance to End Homelessness (BAEH), Kemar Saffrey, on Monday urged government and civil society to move beyond “sound bites” and take decisive, coordinated action to tackle the country’s mental health crisis, warning that awareness alone will not solve the problem.
Saffrey argued that while mental health has become a popular topic in public discourse, tangible interventions remain limited.
“I don’t think enough is placed on mental health. I’m of the firm belief that we spend a lot of time speaking about mental health, and there’s a lot of mental health awareness,” he told Barbados TODAY in an interview. “My fear is that they have not had a lot of mental health action. For everybody it’s a sound bite.”
Saffrey suggested that national conversations around mental wellness often peak during observances such as Mental Health Awareness Month but fade quickly once those campaigns end.
“We put a lot of emphasis on the mental health awareness month, but that is all that I’m seeing,” he said.
While acknowledging the efforts of professionals and organisations already working in the field, Saffrey stressed that the current response does not go far enough to meet the needs of vulnerable populations, particularly those facing homelessness.
“I can appreciate the people that are already on the ground doing the work; I am not discrediting anyone,” he said. “However, I must add that I think there has to be more.”
According to Saffrey, mental health should not be treated as a standalone issue but as one that intersects with education, family life, employment and social development.
“It cannot just be the talk shop of mental health,” he asserted. “I think that mental health needs to be addressed and be addressed in theschools, in the families, wherever possible.
Mental health needs to be tackled.”
He also proposed that workplaces play a more active role in supporting employees who may be struggling, suggesting formal structures to ensure concerns are heard and addressed.
“I think that every workplace should have a mental health committee, and there should be a core group… an overall body that they can speak to and can speak for them,” Saffrey said.
He maintained that insufficient attention has been given to people living with mental health challenges, many of whom fall through the cracks of existing systems.
“I don’t think that we’ve done justice enough for people with mental health issues,” he added.
The homelessness advocate’s comments come amid growing concern about the link between untreated mental health conditions and homelessness, with advocates urging policymakers to move beyond rhetoric and implement sustained, coordinated action to address the issue at every level of society.
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