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CCNTV6
  • 9 months ago
Clinical and Forensic Traumatologist Dr. Hanif Benjamin is asking for the upgrading of the laws of Trinidad and Tobago regarding mental health and social protection for citizens.

He was speaking on TV6 Morning Edition
Transcript
00:00A call for the revamping of social protection documents in Trinidad and Tobago to strengthen
00:05the national social safety net to effectively address the needs of vulnerable people in this
00:10country. It comes from Dr. Hanif Benjamin, clinical and forensic traumatologist.
00:15And so we must be able to see how our social tapestry works in this country or not work.
00:21And we need to fix that. Marlon, we need people who understand social work and understand the
00:27social movement in order to bring about real change. We need people who understand child and
00:33adolescent development and to understand why children behave the way they behave.
00:38He further stated that youth development in TNT is also important for the nation's future
00:43as it plays a key role in economic growth, social progress and national development.
00:49Dr. Benjamin pointed out that by investing in young people, the country can create a
00:54skill the workforce, foster civic engagement and promote positive social change.
00:59When I worked out of the United States, you could not graduate high school without,
01:05how do they call this thing, volunteerism. You had to have 200 volunteer hours.
01:11We need that where our young people will understand how to just care for vulnerable people
01:16because we have children who have no concept of vulnerability. And so we need to include in
01:22our systems where we bring in young people. So we have to actually be deliberate and not
01:27leave it up to our principle if a class go on or on a field trip. It must be brought in and it must be
01:34written in. Marlon, we need to develop our young people in ways that is beyond math and English.
01:40And on the issue of mental health, Benjamin had this to see.
01:44I am willing to lead a team with lawyers who can revamp our legal system in relation to
01:51legislation about mental health. We need to come up. We are now using the international code 10 and 11,
01:59but our laws are still tied to 1980 codes. We cannot work without our labor laws. We need to infuse
02:08mental health. Sharla Kistu, TV6 News.
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