BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - WITH the Cayon community often described as criminal activity “a hotspot”, the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party’s Deputy Chairman, Dr. Terrance Drew, has indicated that he would be willing to work with Parliamentary Representative, the Hon. Eugene Hamilton to change the community and youth activities.
That statement comes as a recent study carried out by the Regional Security System (RSS) pointed to youth within St. Kitts and Nevis being four to five times more likely to join a gang than their regional counterparts.
And most gun-related incidents occurring - especially in the Cayon area – are reportedly gang related.
Dr. Drew, while speaking with this publication, emphasised that people with authority need to go deeper into areas where crimes are occurring to understand some of the challenges facing youth within those communities.
The young doctor – who ran against Hamilton in the 2015 General Elections in a failed bid to secure the Constituency #8 seat - disclosed that he is looking forward to working in collaboration with him on advancing the youth within the Cayon and other areas in the district.
“I cannot say that I have all the answers, but what I can say is that I will continue to collaborate and talk with the youths and forge ways in which they can be helped. I would work with the Hon. Eugene Hamilton. I have called on him that we should really get together and draft a way forward for youth activities.”
He asserted that it is time for politicians and other leaders to approach the youth directly, especially who are at risk of joining gangs, and show them a different way of life.
Dr. Drew reminded that it takes a community to raise a child, and as such, a more integral interaction and social activities would be beneficial.
“We need to find out what are their issues, what are they dealing with, what do they need help with [and] how can we help the situation.
“I had the opportunity to sit with them after I would have attended a couple of funerals, and what they are saying basically is, ‘we don’t want to continue on this path’”, Dr. Drew said.
He continued, “I am asking the community to come together and sit with the youths and to come up with programmes for the youths with us that we can put forward so that they can be better leaders.”
Putting politics aside, the very vocal politician intimated that measures should be implemented to ensure that the country’s youth excel.
At a policy level, Dr. Drew called for the holistic and comprehensive drafting of the National Youth Policy, which is currently in the making.
“That policy should really deal with the issues that pertain to youths within the Federation. Unless we have that is in place I don’t think we can curb the situation.”
