College students at The School of Science, Know-how and Utilized Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTAATT) mentioned and ready to share authentic analysis on urgent psychological well being matters.
Picture courtesy The School of Science, Know-how and Utilized Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTAATT)
A brand new initiative geared toward enhancing youth psychological well being in Trinidad and Tobago, was lately launched with the signing of a landmark Memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the School of Know-how and Utilized Arts of Trinidad and Tobago (COSTAATT), and the Arthur Ashe Institute for City Well being (AAIUH) – a New York Primarily based nonprofit based by the late tennis legend and humanitarian, Arthur Ashe.
Based on the AAIUH, the settlement, signed at COSTAATT’s Metropolis Campus in Port-of-Spain, formalized a partnership to increase psychological well being schooling, peer mentorship, and community-based analysis alternatives for younger individuals throughout the nation.
This program was additionally made doable by a grant from Proman in Trinidad & Tobago.
This 12 months’s collaboration culminated in a three-week program in July, which ended with a scholar commencement and analysis presentation instantly previous to the MOU signing ceremony.
College students shared authentic analysis on urgent psychological well being matters, together with the consequences of social media on psychological well-being, teen social isolation, and the rising want for digital wellness.
Their shows have been the product of coaching and mentorship delivered in collaboration with key organizations resembling Wholesome Minds, Restore A Sens of I Can, UNESCO, The Trinidad and Tobago Affiliation of Psychologists, (TTAP) the Heroes Basis, the Oilfield Staff Commerce Union (OWTU), and the American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad and Tobago (AMCHAM).
President of COSTAATT, Dr. Keith Nurse described the partnership as a major milestone from the establishment and the nation’s youth.
“I used to be a young person when Arthur Ashe was certainly one of my heroes. His grace, self-discipline, and imaginative and prescient dwell on on this program,” he stated. “It is a proud second for our School supporting younger individuals via a mannequin that integrates well being, schooling, and advocacy,” Nurse.
He additionally famous that the excessive caliber of scholar output, stating that COSTAATT, is contemplating providing school credit score to individuals to assist launch their tutorial journeys.
CEO of AAIUH, Dr. Marilyn Fraser, echoed the passion, calling the collaboration “an ideal reflection of Arthur Ashe’s values.”
“Arthur Ashe believed in fairness, entry, and excellence, and this partnership embodies all three. By working with COSTAATT, we’re guaranteeing that college students throughout Trinidad and Tobago achieve entry to transformative studying experiences in psychological well being and group advocacy,” stated Dr. Fraser.
The five-year MOU units the stage for year-round programming, regional outreach, and joint analysis efforts, reinforcing a shared dedication to youth psychological well being and holistic improvement all through Trinidad and Tobago.
Arthur Ashe, the late tennis champion, and humanitarian based the Institute in 1992, simply two months earlier than his demise, in response to the disproportionate quantity of sickness and demise in city communities from preventable illnesses. Arthur knew that many of those illnesses, resembling diabetes and hypertension, have been the results of insufficient well being care supply, late detection, and inadequate well being schooling.
Whilst he was dealing with his personal mortality, Arthur dedicated himself to creating certain that high quality healthcare was not reserved for the rich and well-known. The Institute is a acknowledged chief and pioneer in creating culturally competent well being companies that handle racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in well being.
The Institute works tirelessly year-round to deal with these points that exacerbate well being disparities amongst communities of coloration. To deal with the continual scarcity of underrepresented populations within the healthcare workforce, the Institute and the SUNY Downstate Well being Sciences College collaborate to offer a Well being Science Academy (HSA) pipeline program to interact deprived center and highschool college students in STEM actions. The Academy is getting ready the following technology of leaders of coloration in well being professions, and lots of of its graduates are working of their communities to make sure that individuals of coloration are represented and obtain the best commonplace of care. To deal with inadequate well being schooling in susceptible communities, the Institute works in collaboration with over 170 Brooklyn salons and barbershops, internet hosting occasions that present to the knowledge, instruments, and assets they should make knowledgeable well being choices.
