By Desilon DanielsWhile suicide prevention efforts by nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) across Guyana are numerous, officials say that these efforts are disjointed. The result is that more structured collaboration is needed.Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Karen CummingsWithin the past year, a number of NGOs have been established with mental health and suicide components. Most recently, the Ministry of Public Health supported the launch of Prevention of Teenage Suicide (POTS) Guyana.However, while NGOs have individually been tackling suicide in Guyana, few work in collaboration with each other, leading some to believe that suicide prevention efforts are disjointed.According to Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Karen Cummings, the National Mental Health Unit will play an integral role in forging collaboration between NGOs.She also indicated that the Ministry will work towards bettering its relationship with the NGOs. However, she said, the unit will play this role only when it is revamped.Minister Cummings said that currently there is no real Mental Health Unit. She explained that the Ministry is in the process of conducting a needs assessment. It is determining the necessary elements to go forward.She added that the new approaches will largely focus on the Ministry’s two current strategies – its Mental Health Strategy 2015-2020 and its National Suicide Prevention Strategy 2015-2020.“As it is, our officials are working on these and the Mental Health Unit is trying to be strengthened,” Cummings said.As part of its strengthening efforts, Cummings said that the Ministry is working with its partners such as the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), the Ministry of Social Protection, and the National Psychiatric Hospital.However, when questioned on the Ministry’s collaborations with NGOs focused on suicide prevention, Cummings admitted that collaboration has been minimal. She noted that working with NGOs is made difficult due to the fact that new ones keep cropping up quickly.“We’re trying to see who is who and streamline it all,” Minister Cummings said. “Currently, we know of some NGOs but we need to start at home with the Unit before we move forward. We’re now trying to address our own issues.”Minister Cummings added that the Inter-Agency Suicide Hotline is, “Coming along pretty well” and has actually saved lives. However, she said, it would be much improved with the aid of NGOs. She stressed that human resources are always needed.“It would definitely be better with the NGOs but before we can move to get them on board, we need to establish a structured approach,” Cummings emphasised.This “structured approach” has seen Leslyn Holder, Coordinator of the National Mental Health Unit, making contact with a number of NGOs aimed at tackling suicide. She indicated this during a recent forum between PAHO and the media.According to Holder, meetings had been scheduled to figure out where NGOs stand and what their current approaches are to tackling suicide.“A lot of persons are talking about objectives and their strategies so we want to see what they have,Gordon Hayward Jersey,” Holder said. She continued, “Once I have everyone on a one-to-one basis, I’m going to call a grand meeting where I’ll be inviting (Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton) and persons from my team.“We’ll look at where they’re at with their objectives, see where they fit into the strategies and see how well we can work with them.”She noted that the NGOs are filled with people “passionate about doing their jobs”. However, she said, “We want them to work with us; we want to work along with them. We want to be able to support them and guide them through whatever they have.”Like Minister Cummings,Deion Sanders Falcons Jersey UK, Holder said that groups keep cropping up, which has proven to be a problem in getting every NGO on board. Nonetheless, she expressed optimism that a final meeting will come about shortly, to determine who will be doing what.This grand meeting is expected to occur sometime after the Unit is revamped.‘Where do I go?’“Sometimes you hear so much about so many different NGOs that you’re left wondering where to go,” Jason [name changed] said.“You want someone to talk to; there are so many voices saying they want to help, but sometimes you’re just looking for one clear voice to ring out,Cheap Jerseys From China,” he added.Jason, 29, has suffered from depression for years and still struggles against suicidal thoughts. After years of ups and downs and even a failed suicide attempt, Jason now has a better grip on his mental state. However, he recalled that in his teenage years he had no idea where he could receive help.“Back then there were not so many NGOs dealing with su