BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, December 17, 2024 (SKNIS) – Throughout the upcoming year 2025, the Department of Youth Empowerment will look to expand its mental health awareness campaign among the nation’s youth, building on the momentum of Youth Month 2024, that was observed under the theme “Mental Health Matters for Youth Development and Sustainability.”

During her contribution to the 2025 Budget Debate on Tuesday, December 17, 2024, Minister of State for Youth Empowerment, Senator the Honourable Isalean Phillip, reflected on the month-long celebration and its broad-based focus on prioritising one’s mental health. She noted that the issue of mental health is one that young people themselves are now very interested in.

“It’s an area that they bring up in conversations, and I think that we should be concerned because they are concerned about it,” Minister of State Phillip said.

The minister of state raised the alarm at the number of young people in St. Kitts and Nevis who are traumatised, angry and depressed about their life circumstances. Others are anxious about their future, their independence and their own ability to generate money.

In addition, Senator Phillip said today’s youth are growing up in an increasingly unstable and confusing world filled with international conflicts, instability, rising prices, and violence and crime.

“Our young people are not isolated, they know what’s happening and they are also experiencing their own bouts of depression, their own bouts of anxiety, their own fears, they are also angry … but despite all the challenges they face we do have some very positive young people who are being role models, who are taking on leadership roles and who are doing great things,” said Minister of State Phillip, while underscoring her ministry’s commitment to fostering these positive attributes.

The minister of state presented some staggering statistics from the Department of Probation and Child Protection Services up to the third quarter of 2024, that showed a total of one hundred and seventy-seven (177) cases of issues surrounding child protection. These issues include neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, sexual assault, inappropriate touching, sexual harassment, unlawful carnal knowledge, and suicide ideation, among others.

In light of this troubling trend, Minister Phillip called for an all-of-society approach to addressing these issues and protecting the nation’s youth.

“We have traumatised children become angry adolescents, angry adolescents becoming delinquent juveniles and delinquent juveniles becoming adult criminals and I see it because I work in the ministries where the pipeline is very clear, and so there really is a need for us as a government and as a people to come together in partnership to address the issue of violence and crime and the social problems that we are seeing bubbling up … because it really does take a village [to raise a child],” the minister said.

Honourable Senator Phillip assured that her ministry will continue to do its part to actively and positively engage the nation’s youth in meaningful activities throughout the upcoming year.