While attending a recent function in benefit of the Mental Health Foundation, caretaker Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams again stressed the importance for the Mental Health Foundation; “As I have expressed in the past we have a Mental Health Foundation doing extremely good work but one that is faced with its challenges. Government subsidizes the Foundation but indeed the needs of the organization are great.
“There are a lot of issues that are faced by people on a daily basis; some persons can conceal this state but others not. More can be done on St. Maarten but we must also acknowledge that we have come a long way, not to long ago we had absolutely no care for those suffering from issues related to mental health on St. Maarten. During our island territory days things needed to be done but our legal parameters were not in place yet. Some persons got together and provided that service and Government subsidized the activities of that foundation but there are still some legal issues, including picking up persons and forcing them to have care, which must be looked at. Mental Health is just as important as physical health and the work done by the Mental Health Foundation is essential in the community,” commented Prime Minister Wescot-Williams.