Progress Being Made on Mixed Juvenile Rehabilitation Centre

The plan to transform the former George Charles Secondary School into a new juvenile facility, replacing the Boys Training Centre, Upton Gardens Girls Centre and other youth centres, is progressing, according to Minister for Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment, Joachim Henry. During a pre-Cabinet press briefing earlier this week, he said that when completed, the Youth Services Centre for children, adolescents and youth in need of care and protection will have the potential to make a significant positive impact on many lives. “It shows great promise…. I think it would be the best in the region of a juvenile centre for rehabilitation, for re-engineering the minds of our young people, so that they can continue making a contribution to our society,” Henry said. Noting that rehabilitation facilities have proven successful in Saint Lucia in the past, he stressed the importance of offering troubled youth an opportunity to change.  He also called for an end to the stigma surrounding youth placed in rehabilitation centres. “We’re moving away from the stigma associated with the Boys Training Centre, the [New Beginnings] Transit Home, Upton Gardens Girls, in terms of how they are viewed. These programmes have had tremendous success. However, the way society...