50 homes for vulnerable persons...

Guyana to mentor young men and boys to address the unique issues facing them.

Stakeholders hope that the programme would be the answer to scourge of domestic violence-related homicides facing the country.

According to Brigadier Bess, the rates of domestic violence, sexual abuse, male unemployment and underemployment, crime and road violence continue to be unsustainable, and so MoM will continue to work with men and boys across the country to address the underlying reasons for these dysfunctions and make the necessary interventions to bring about lasting change.

“The primary driver for MoM remains the urgent need to see transforma - tional behavioural change through character building among men and boys in Guyana,” the Chief of Staff related.

The programme has been having positive effects thus far.

“Our mentors have been having sessions with the male population, giving them guidance as to how to deal with conflict resolutions and I must say that in all of these cases, we’ve been receiving pos- itive feedbacks and reports from the environments and we will continue to work with our male folks,” Brigadier Bess said.

Through the series of one week camps being held for boys, MoM is targeting at least 500 boys across the country. The camps will be held during the August school vacation period and will include instructional sessions, group activities, and other components that are designed to encourage the healthy growth and proper development of boys into men.

The camp for young men who have previously passed through the criminal justice system is being held too to cut down on repeat offences.

In the area of rehabilitation of homeless persons, MoM will be looking to create homeless shelters in the city and towns.

“The facility would provide a different level of hygiene, healthy meals daily, and access to quality healthcare. The lives of these citizens should be significantly improved by the proposed MoM efforts,” Brigadier Bess said. The initiative is also looking to repurpose or construct new buildings to provide multi-family shelters that could be used to support families displaced by natural or manmade disasters.