Twenty Psychological First Aid Responder Trainees Graduate

The parish of St. James and, by extension, Jamaica now have improved capabilities to offer psychological support at the community level following the graduation of the initial cohort of psychological first aid responder trainees, at the S Hotel in Montego Bay on Friday (January 27).

The 20 men and women are tasked with providing first response in the areas of trauma and mental health, after undergoing weeks of in-class training utilising a Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) psychological training curriculum.

They are employed to several institutions throughout the parish, including the Ministries of Health and Wellness, and Justice, as well as schools and non-governmental organisations.

The initiative was spearheaded by the Citizen Security Secretariat, which falls under the Ministry of National Security, and the European Union (EU).

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang, who attended the ceremony, said establishing groups of trained frontline workers at the community level is critical to the Citizen Security Plan’s (CSP) successful implementation.

The CSP is a government policy framework that establishes and implements a strategic roadmap to counter the impact of crime on communities.

“This signifies a new direction in how we serve and seek to treat [with] violence in the communities, in that we are training individuals who are working in institutions in these communities… public institutions, NGOs, and other groups,” Dr. Chang explained.

“These individuals bring to the table an experience that is local [and] I’m confident that these psychological first responders will contribute significantly to reducing the level of distress caused by traumatic events in and around the communities,” he added.

Dr. Chang indicated that the graduates will be active in over 20 communities across St. James, with their reach also extending to Hanover and Westmoreland.

“So, this is a first step towards fulfilling that investment in the social and emotional needs of our people in these communities, where children are exposed to the trauma of criminal violence from an early age, and where families have had to adopt strategies to ensure their safety and survival; [so] this type of training is critical,” he further stated.

For his part, Head of Cooperation, Delegation of the European Union to Jamaica, Aniceto Rodriguez Ruiz, congratulated the graduates for completing their training.

He said their willingness to accept the challenge of being first aid responders is critical in Jamaica’s effort to improve the availability of psychological support for victims of violence in various communities.

“This training is part of a much broader European Union and Jamaica partnership, aiming to strengthen stakeholders’ capacities to manage and to deliver coherent, effective and coordinated safety and security interventions, promoting behavioural change for social behaviour, respect for the rule of law, life and vocational skills and social economic integration of vulnerable populations in highly volatile communities,” he outlined.

Graduate, and teacher at Mount Carey Infant School in St. James, Kayon Bowen, told JIS News that she is already applying what she learned in her daily engagements.

“I realised that there are a lot of persons that have issues, and I get to listen sometimes. I don’t have to do anything but just listen, and then just refer them to the right [public] sources for further aid. So, I have been using it, not just in my classroom, but in my community,” she pointed out.