People’s Assemblies ‘could also keep youth on right track’

The proposed People’s Assemblies could tackle deviant behaviour among young people by getting them involved in structured activities, MP for St John and former Youth Commissioner, Charles Griffith has said.

Speaking as the series of town hall meetings by the Thorne Commission on Local Governance came to his constituency on Sunday evening, he suggested the establishment of “study halls” within communities to help students at the Common Entrance and CXC levels who may be facing significant distractions at home, and a team of young mentors to assist these students.

He said: “We have young people in our communities preparing for these exams who I think should have a ‘study hall’ in their locale, for example a church, where they can go for an hour or two to focus on their school work. This kind of initiative can be done through the People’s Assemblies.”

Commissioner David Comissiong suggested a National Mentorship Programme to help address concerns with “problem children” in schools.

“These mentors can be mature people who have already raised children and will be vetted by the Ministry of Education,” he said. “Principals of primary schools, and the guidance counsellors at secondary schools, will identify the children that need help and the mentors will be assigned accordingly.”

Griffith built on that point by pointing out that the University of the West Indies had suggested that its recent graduates give back some of their time to the community, and said the study halls would be a good method for them to do so.

He said: “There are more young people doing positive things in Barbados than negative ones, and if we can get some of them in our constituencies via the People’s Assemblies to put in one or two hours a week to help the children, we can cut down on some of what we have been experiencing recently.”

The St John MP added that he had recently established a St. John Development Council, which will be based primarily at the Gall Hill Playing Field and have a number of activities available for young people. He noted that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, he was planning to start a track club and a young woman had expressed an interest in starting piano lessons there.

Addressing a concern by Commissioner Adrian Donovan about the lack of sporting activity he was presently noticing as he traversed communities, Griffith said: “The People’s Assemblies can help decentralise coaching so it is available across the catchment area, and apart from teaching the rudiments of the sporting disciplines, there should also be sessions dedicated to soft skills like anger management and conflict resolution.”

Griffith also said that while Members of Parliament would not be directly involved in the People’s Assemblies, the two parties would still have to collaborate on occasion.

He said: “An assembly can act as ‘extra help’ for the MP ‘on the ground’, in that they will be able to identify some issues of concern that the Member of Parliament may not know about. Likewise, there may be some issues that will need the MP’s intervention because they fall outside the remit of the assembly.”