A two-day workshop at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre in Barbados is the first of two regional sessions focused on the growing need for coordinated, trauma-informed responses to disasters and other crises affecting juveniles across the Caribbean.
Chief Probation Officer Dr. Angela Dixon spoke at the opening of the UNICEF-sponsored Caribbean Association of Probation and Parole Regional Workshop on "Trauma-Informed Practice and Crisis Preparedness for Juvenile Justice Practitioners."
Dr. Dixon noted that the Caribbean has always lived with the reality of hurricanes, but the impact on juveniles during and after these events has never been assessed in the context of those known to the system.
"The storms of recent years have reminded us that their impact does not end when the wind and the rain stop," she said, explaining that for young people within their systems, "disaster compounds what is already fragile."
She emphasised that when young people dealing with existing trauma face natural disasters, severe consequences can result, and that without appropriate frameworks and tools, practitioners risk compounding those consequences.
"The knowledge and connections built here are meant to travel, to take root in other territories," Dr. Dixon stated, adding that the sessions are intended to strengthen regional response capacity.
Minister of Home Affairs and Information Gregory Nicholls stressed that "fragmented responses will fail vulnerable young people. Only coordinated systems will protect them."
He highlighted that the workshop represents alignment between the Barbados Probation Service and the Department of Emergency Management. "This shift is away from silos and towards shared responsibility," Mr. Nicholls said.
Over the two days, practitioners will take part in a Capstone Tabletop Simulation and discuss Disaster and Emergency Protocols, Return to Happiness Tools, Suicide Prevention and CISM, and Trauma-Informed Disaster Response.
Source: Barbados Government Information Service (BGIS). Read the original article.