To date over 2,000 children between the ages of 11 and 17 are the beneficiaries of Verdun and Marina House projects of the Substance Abuse Foundation’s (SAF) programme – Teen Intervene and Confident Me, designed to help young people who have issues with anger management, substance abuse, trauma and neglect.

This was revealed by Nicollette Williams, the Youth & Adolescence Specialist/Psychotherapist at Verdun and Marina House who has been working with the young people in secondary schools, both in classes alongside the National Council for Substance Abuse (NCSA) and at Verdun House where she conducts smaller classes and sometimes one-on-one sessions for the youth.

She stated that, three years ago, a study showed that 90% of the adult client population had some emotional dysfunction and there was evidence to show that many of them started using substances in their teen years. This led to abuse of these and other substances in later years, and so the SAF decided to target the younger people as a preventative measure.

This programme, going since 2022, has been seeing results through various modalities like Equine Therapy, Wellness Clinics, Creative Arts – Art and Dance, and Meeting with Nature.  “Sometimes this is just what these teenagers need to help bring them out and assist them in dealing with the issues they are battling. We have found that sometimes just by brushing a horse, they tap into the animal’s breathing which helps to calm them down…its therapeutic” she stated as she explained the Equine therapy.

She added that riding the horse also helped to have a soothing effect on the participants. “These are the things that help to empower them to open up and talk about their feelings and the issues bothering them. That way we get them to express themselves and talk about life.”

The programme will now have a new lease and be able to assist even more teenagers as CIBC Caribbean has injected $10,000 into the initiative. Kemar Poilus, Head of Country for Barbados, in presenting the money to Ms. Williams, explained that he recognised that there were a number of young men who abuse substances from early, and when that happens, it is difficult to break the habit. He added that though unemployment rates may be low, he is still seeing too many young men from under privileged communities who are at risk.

Acknowledging his own origins, he stated that he is happy to take part in the bank’s initiative to help these marginalised youngsters because ” our young men need help, with the upsurge in crime and drug use, there are too many of them involved in the wrong type of activity, that is why the work at Verdun House is invaluable” He shared a personal story of seeing a childhood friend’s brother and when he asked for his friend, learnt that he was stabbed and died last year. “That struck home” he added

The group also heard from a young man who has participated and benefited from the Teen Programme. He testified “I had anger management issues.  I used to be bullied at primary school and even though my family moved from our original home, when I went to my other schools and then secondary school, I was always bullied. So then, it reached the stage whenever someone said anything to me, I flipped.

This happened a number of times and eventually the principal sent me to the mental.  I realise now that I did a lot of foolishness at school but then I was introduced to Teen Intervene and it has done so much for me. Now, when I am angry, I go walking, I listen to music, I talk to friends and share. It has made a big difference in my life.”

He explained that he has seen friends go to Dodds, has tried drugs and does not want his younger sister to fall into the same lifestyle, and so is trying to get her to join the Teen programme for girls. He also confirmed that he is working hard to get some CXCs and CVQs as he has come to realise that ‘you can’t get work without them’.  He tries to maintain a positive outlook and help his friends by talking them out of doing the wrong thing. He confirmed that he no longer has suicidal thoughts or is depressed and seeks to help others whenever he can. CEO at Verdun and Marina House, Marietta Carrington, thanked the bank for the donation and explained that they have rebranded Verdun and Marina House as a spaces of Hope and Healing because “Addiction is really a disease of the brain and must be treated as such.” She went on to explain that the SAF operates on three pillars – Prevention, Treatment and Maintenance.