By: Spokesman Newsroom

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Thursday 6th March 2025)- “We had an engagement in one community and some of the youths were saying that they know that there are issues that are in their household and the parents did not know or do not want to take the approach to do stuff like counselling for the parents…”

Coordinator of the Citizen Security Secretariat Eartha Carey said so in sharing details when quizzed about findings from the government’s 90-Day Campaign Against Crime and Violence while appearing on ‘In Focus’ on Wednesday 5th March 2025 with host Ian Richards of the St.Kitts-Nevis Information Service (SKNIS) department.

“So when we look at the parents, and when that was mentioned by a youth, I mean, we had to really take a step back and be like, okay, wow… For us the team, it told us that the children are definitely paying attention to what is going on. With the findings also, some of them reveal that’s one of the reasons also why they turn to the gangs… They turn to the gangs for support, they turn to the gangs for an ear, they turn to the gangs to render support or safety, as they may put it, because they felt safe with their gang peers, so to speak,” she added.

According to Carey: “From the findings, it was revealed [that] …things that we may overlook , they are in simple forms but they carry a weight. The findings showed us things that we may have been overlooking for years that were contributing to the rise of crime and violence, right? Some of the things that were overlooked is that, and this came from the voices of the communities, including the youths, let’s not leave them out, including the youths.”

The show’s discussion generally highlighted the successes of the campaign and explored ongoing measures to sustain momentum in creating safer communities.

Sergeant Charmaine Audain of the Citizen Security Task Force echoed the importance of listening to the youth, sharing a personal encounter from a high school meeting earlier in the week.

“I’m glad that Ms. Carey mentioned about the voice of the youths because just this week I had that similar impact where, you know, I had a meeting on Monday, a very long meeting at a high school, and one of the youths waited on the outside for me, and, you know, and he expressed himself respectfully and identified that the family needs help because this is why he’s going towards certain behavior in school, and I felt good to see that, you know, this young man, teen, I think he was about 15 years old, can reach out to the police and say, ‘I’ve identified my family needs help’.”

Host Ian Richards noted the shift in how young people approach mental health compared to previous generations. 

“It speaks to the fact that most young persons seem to be in tune with their mental health. And that is something that I would say 15 years ago; certainly when I was growing up, it did not happen…Always was told to be a man, which means to be quiet and lead and be aggressive…and young people, those are messages that are changing, and I’m sure that you welcome these things; these change in society.”