By Dr. Neals J. Chitan
As I walk the hallways of New Life Organization, a “top-brass” vocational and technical skill training institute in Grenada, and listen to the follow-up one-on-one stories of the hundreds of youth registered there, I conclude that it may be the educational establishment that is playing the most important role in crime reduction in Grenada.
Over the past nineteen years, as an experienced Grenadian-born Crime Reduction Consultant based in Toronto, I have responded to every call to help in shaping the social landscape of my homeland. I have responded to calls from both sides of the political spectrum giving back as much as I can through individual, family, community and national crisis interventions, from Calliste in the south to River Salle in the north and from Grenville in the east to Gouyave in the west of the Spice Isle. However, through it all, I have always relished the opportunity to consistently respond to the Psychosocial needs of the trainees and staff of the New Life Organization, where I have been blessed to positively impact the lives of hundreds, if not thousands of our youth and young adults representing the same four points of the compass and all between.
Recently, I was asked to inspire and challenge NEWLO trainees from both campuses with social skill concepts that will powerfully equip and motivate them to keep focused on their technical/vocational dreams despite the recent diabolic incidences of community homicides, which have not only negatively impacted the communities of the victims, but the scores of relatives and friends attending NEWLO. To help uproot the budding crop of grief, loss, anger and revenge that was indeed growing, I administered one of our most potent doses of group therapy and psychoeducation captioned “GETTING UP and MOVING ON, when life becomes UNFAIR,” a presentation loaded with anecdotes, concepts and strategies meant to equip them to “GET UP”, despite what life throws at them.
Unleashing the passion, energy, charisma and verbal artistry that our work is known and remembered for, I held them captivated, engaged and at the edge of their seats for two hours, leaving me tied up for the next two hours as in response, these young men and women stood in line to share their personal stories of youthful pain, trauma and neglect with me, and how this session empowered them to GET UP and move on despite. It was then, I again recognized the critical role that NEWLO plays in reshaping the lives of our nation, especially our second-chancer youth who dropped out of high school, have matters court, were given up on, or who were profiled as coming from “at-risk and vulnerable communities.” My one-on-one conversations did not only reveal a history of; sexual assaults, rebellion, law-breaking, drug-use, deep seated anger, revenge and criminal activity, but also revealed to me the plethora of communities stretching across the complete nation represented at NEWLO.
I thought to myself, this is not just the Mecca of skill training, entrepreneurship and nation building in Grenada, but it’s also an important “Social Funnel” for pouring empowerment, crime reduction concepts and social change into the communities of our nation through the NEWLO trainees from these communities! Indeed, you touch a life, you touch a community!!
I therefore declare that “NEWLO is a critical piece in crime reduction in Grenada,” and recommend that the government with its transformation agenda will team up with this institution in a meaningful way to maximize their impact on our nation.
Dr Neals Chitan is an International Social Skill Consultant and Crime Reduction Specialist who holds a PhD in Social and Behavioural Sciences and currently works in Grenada. He is the President/Founder of Motiv-8 For Change International a Toronto-based Social Skill Agency and can be reached from North America at 647-692-6330 and locally 473-416-8377 or at nealschitan@motiv-8.org
