PHILIPSBURG:--- Last Tuesday, the Mental Health Foundation was invited to give a presentation at the weekly meeting of the Rotary Club of St. Maarten, Mid-isle. In this presentation, MHF explained the current situation of mental health on the island, the services that it provides and the challenges ahead.
One of the biggest challenges MHF deals with is the way people think about mental health and mental health patients. Because there is very little knowledge known about mental health, people tend to think in terms of 'sane' & 'crazy' and 'crazy house'. If you and the people around you believe this, it can be tough to look for help, because you might be afraid of what people may think and say about you, and that they may also treat you differently. When the small things in life (that almost everyone experiences once in their life) are not dealt with, they can escalate into severe mental problems.
The new project for MHF, which will be launched during May aims to inform the community on mental health and the services that are available to those that need them, but mostly to show that the stigma and attitudes attached to mental health within the community are not correct and that there is always a place where you can go to get help or information in confidence.
The Rotary Club of St. Maarten Mid-Isle is supporting the MHF in the cause of mental health awareness and presented the MHF with a cheque after the meeting. MHF would like publically thank the Rotary Club of St. Maarten Mid-Isle for their help this time and in the past as they recently donated the new signage at MHF.
