CSJP takes PeaceMobile to Homestead, St. Catherine

KINGSTON — The Citizen Security and Justice Programme (CSJP) of the Ministry of National Security, in partnership with the community of Homestead in St. Catherine, deployed its PeaceMobile, ‘a roaming peace-vibes concert and information village’ in that community, on Sunday, May 1.

A special feature of the Homestead programme was the provision of free health services.

The concert series, the second of seven planned to welcome an additional 12 volatile and vulnerable communities to the list of CSJP communities, marked the launch of CSJP crime prevention services to that St. Catherine community. Homestead was recently added to the list of CSJP communities, following the merger of the CSJP with the former Community Security Initiative (CSI). The merger has expanded the CSJP programme jurisdiction to 39 communities, spanning eight parishes.

The community requested the PeaceMobile following the murder of two young persons from that community. There was a high level of mobilisation, as over 30 residents were selected to perform items of peace, unity, reconciliation, respect and forgiveness, becoming messengers of peace on that day. 

Thirty seven volunteers were also mobilised and trained to assist with the PeaceMobile, by promoting the event throughout the community. Volunteers were trained in basic conflict resolution skills, team building and CSJP services, in order to promote these services among neighbours, friends and other persons in need.

The Seventh Day Adventist Church offered a free health clinic in the privacy of the community centre. The information village featured tented exhibits and teams from the CSJP, Social Development Commission and the Community Safety and Security Branch of the Police Force, complete with its mobile police station; and the Homestead Citizens for Action. The CSJP showcased social intervention services offered, in the pursuit of its mandate to prevent crime and violence.

PeaceMobile’s message, according to organisers, is that peace will be sustained on the strength and co-operation of residents and with the help of social intervention services to be provided by organisations, such as the CSJP. The theme of PeaceMobile, a CSJP brand created some four years ago, is ‘Journey towards a safer Jamaica’.

The CSJP is a multi-faceted crime and violence prevention initiative, which focuses on building community safety and security.