In a significant step toward strengthening support services for men and young people, the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security officially opened its first-ever BRAVE Centre in Region Three on Tuesday.
This new centre, located in the West Central Mall in Leonora, is poised to be a safe and supportive space where men and youth can access vital services, express themselves freely, and receive guidance without judgment.
The space is a collaboration between the Ministry and the Essequibo Islands-West Demerara Chamber of Commerce and Industry. To solidify this partnership, both parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the opening ceremony, outlining mutual responsibilities and agreeing to waive the rental fee for the centre’s operations during its first year.
The centre will operate under the Ministry’s Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Policy Unit (SO&DPVU) and Family Enhancement Services Section (FESS), offering a range of services tailored to support men and youths with emotional healing, personal development, and accountability.
While delivering the feature address, Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, said that the centre’s main purpose is to positively impact lives without labeling anyone.
“𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞’𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬,“ the Minister said.
She stressed the importance of investing in the nation’s youth, especially in areas like mental and emotional well-being.
“𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡. 𝐖𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰’𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞; 𝐰𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐰. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡, 𝐰𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬, 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲,” Minister Persaud stated.
To date, the Ministry has established three youth hubs across the country, providing safe, supportive spaces where young people can freely express themselves and access the help they need. Ten such hubs will be opened this year.
Additionally, shifting her focus to men, the Minister clarified that the BRAVE Centre is not about stereotyping, but about creating a space where men are heard and supported.
It is going to be one of the transformational centres to help men in areas of conflict resolution, prevention of violence against women, fatherhood and responsibility, anger management, mental health, peer-to-peer support, healthier relationships, and behavioral change.
“𝐖𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐮𝐬. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬,” Minister Persaud pointed out.
The opening of the BRAVE Centre follows the recent launch of the Ministry’s men’s policy, called “Bridging the Gap”, aimed at engaging more men and boys in the national conversation around gender-based violence and promoting preventative approaches to healing and change.
Minister Persaud also expressed deep appreciation to the Chamber of Commerce for their support, describing the partnership as instrumental in making the initiative possible.
Among those in attendance were Regional Vice Chairman, Omesh Satyanand, and Managing Director of the mall and the Chamber’s President, Bhabita Albert. They both made presentations expressing the timeliness of the initiative and their support.
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