CAY HILL--Mental Health Foundation (MHF) has come a long way since it first opened its doors in 2006, but is not yet where it needs to be.
This was one of the messages MHF Interim Director Eileen Healy sent out during remarks made during MHF’s New Year’s reception for its partners and stakeholders held on January 30.
“We started in 2006 with one fly-in doctor in a small building on the L.B. Scott Road with a mission to provide quality mental health care to the people of St. Maarten. Based on our core values of ethical and transparent service, accountability, innovation, collaboration and valuing the people, we’ve expanded to an organisation with approximately 40 employees who offer seven different care products and who care for approximately 100 patients and their families,” Healy said. “However, we are not there yet.”
She said getting a much-needed new facility, challenges in hiring qualified professionals and obtaining finances to provide community care are currently issues for which MHF fights every day.
“This fight is not an easy one. Due to the stigma surrounding mental health, people tend to avoid the topic. However, it is still there and if you don’t deal with it, it will only turn into a bigger problem later. This applies to individuals on the island who, as so many of us, struggle with mental health issues, but also for health care professionals and the government whose responsibility it is to provide care.”
“It is for this reason that it is important to strengthen our professional relationships with partners and stakeholders who share this common goal. We have to do it together, because together we stand strong,” she said to the audience, which included health care professionals and politicians, amongst other persons.
Justice Minister Cornelius de Weever and Health Minister Emil Lee expressed gratitude for the work MHF is doing and spoke about the foundation’s importance. Lee said he is willing to help MHF to the best of his abilities.
