It’s a mental health emergency – save our children, nation now!

By Kaelanne Jordan

mediarelations.camsel@catholictt.org

Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon warned that T&T is facing a deep and escalating mental health crisis among children and young people, calling for urgent national action to safeguard them from systemic harm.

Speaking at a media conference hosted by the Samaritan Movement at Archbishop’s House on Monday, January 19, Archbishop Gordon said the country can no longer delay difficult conversations around social media, pornography and the protection of children, arguing that the consequences of inaction are already evident.

“The question of what’s next is always a big question,” he said. “So, we put out a question for the nation …what should we do about social media, pornography, our young people and how do we safeguard them?”

Archbishop Gordon said he intends to formally raise the issue through official channels, urging policymakers to apply the same protective framework used for alcohol, gambling and gaming to digital spaces. He said legislation has already demonstrated that behaviour can be shaped in the interest of public health and national development.

“Let’s do it for pornography and our children; let’s do it for social media and our children; and let’s be consistent in protecting our children in the things that are most harmful for them,” he said.

Outlining specific measures, Archbishop Gordon said restricting access to harmful online content could have immediate and far-reaching benefits.

“If we were to do that, we would reclaim childhood very quickly,” he said, acknowledging that such measures would likely face resistance.

He also called for a significant increase in school-based support services, noting that frontline systems are already under severe strain. “We know the system is completely overwhelmed,” he said. “We need at least three or four times the number of social workers in our schools as of this morning, if that were possible.”

“That’s one of the great investments in national development,” the Archbishop added. Increasing staffing, he said, would reduce caseloads, “give children access to care giving,” and allow “first responders a much quicker response time.”

“Are these things possible? Absolutely!” Archbishop Gordon said, pointing to existing legislative precedents. “With the legislation frame of this government that has already gone in this direction with alcohol and gambling and driving, I think we can add pornography and social media.”

The Archbishop also emphasised the need for trauma-informed training across schools, offices, and public services, linking present-day stress levels to intergenerational trauma shaped by historical and social realities. Without trauma-informed spaces, he warned, people risk being “retraumatised” when they seek help.

A national crisis

‘The Urgency of Now: A National Call to Save Our Children’ featured speakers including Darrion Narine, General Manager of the Samaritan Movement; Isolde Ali Ghent, clinical psychologist; Vanessa Yearwood, Quality Assurance Manager at the Catholic Education Board of Management (CEBM); and Rev Dr Gerard McGlone SJ, consultant to the Samaritan Movement.

Narine said the organisation was compelled to speak out because the scale of the crisis could no longer be ignored. He described a “quiet devastation emergency” unfolding across the nation, particularly among children and young people.

“Suicide, self-harm, anxiety, depression, trauma, these are no longer rare or isolated experiences. They’re becoming common stories in our homes, our schools, our churches, and our communities,” he said.

Narine stressed that the Samaritan Movement is grounded in prevention and early intervention. He said when children harm themselves “it’s not a failure of that child—it’s a failure of the system; it’s a failure of the support; it’s a failure of society.”

Addressing ‘The Reality on the Ground: What we are Seeing,’ Isolde Ali Ghent, who has practised in Trinidad and Tobago since 1997 and has been involved with ChildLine since its inception, said while suicidal ideation existed long before COVID-19, the pandemic marked a critical shift.

“What has changed…is the pattern, it’s the intensity and the context in which we now practice and in which we’re now seeing our families in crisis,” she said.

Ali Ghent warned that suicidal thinking is emerging earlier, escalating more rapidly and appearing at lower thresholds of emotional overwhelm. She linked this to prolonged stress, financial pressures, reduced supports and chronic hypervigilance among young people. Citing ChildLine data, she said that between 2020 and 2025, 1,500 calls and messages related to self-harm and suicidal ideation were recorded, mostly from young people aged 12 to 17.

Outlining the Samaritan Movement’s national response, Fr McGlone described the situation as devastating. “Your country’s children are suffering at levels of pain and hurt I’ve rarely seen in my clinical practice,” he said.

Citing data validated by ChildLine and Lifeline, Fr McGlone warned, “40 per cent of your children are saying they’re thinking of suicide. We are in a crisis; this is astronomical numbers.”

He said the Samaritan Movement is working to promote trauma-informed teaching, self-care for educators and suicide first-aid approaches. “To become first responders to our children in need,” he said.