NEW HORIZONS PARTNERS WITH STAKEHOLDERS TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

Basseterre, St. Kitts, June 23, 2021 (SKNIS): Adele Williams, Director at the New Horizons Juvenile Rehabilitation Center, said that the institution continues to work closely with several stakeholder agencies to provide assistance and support to children and families in the Federation, promote education and public safety, strengthen families, and positively change the lives of troubled youth.

The assistance and support provided include but are not limited to education, health, safety and security, agriculture, sport, environmental practices, as well as welfare.

“The Ministry of Education provides full-time teachers and also skilled workers from the National Skills Department. We also get engaged with sports, looking at what the children’s needs are,” said Ms. Williams, during her June 23 appearance on Working for You. “We work in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, and we have a local district doctor and district nurse within our area that we work very closely with because the child has to be assessed in terms of what their house needs are as well when they come to the facility.”

Ms. Williams noted that the institution also works closely with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) as the leading disaster agency in St. Kitts and Nevis.  

“…Because of the crisis that we are in, we have to put an evacuation plan in place or if there is some kind of natural disaster that has happened, we have partnerships that we work closely with them on,” she added. “Also, we would work in collaboration with the Fire Department, Social Development, Gender Affairs, as well as Social Services for social assistance for the families…”

Important to note is the agricultural activities implemented by New Horizons in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture. Ms. Williams noted that currently, New Horizons runs a farming programme and is involved in hydroponics. Both programmes, she added, receive full support from the Ministry of Agriculture.

The New Horizons Juvenile Rehabilitation Center works hand in hand with the Department of Probation and Child Protection Services, a department built on ensuring that each child enjoys the right to live and grow as a child, protected from all forms of abuse and neglect, and provided with every opportunity to realize his or her fullest potential.