The Tribune

Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has recently awarded a $5,000 grant to the Bahamas Institute for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (BICAMH) as part of the RBC Children’s Mental Health Project.

The grant will fund BICAMH’s ‘Comprehensive Model for Treatment-Based Children’s Residential Homes’ project.

The RBC Children’s Mental Health Project is a multi-year, philanthropic commitment to programmes that reduce stigma, provide early intervention and increase public awareness about children’s mental health issues.

The project was launched in The Bahamas in October 2012. In commemoration of the launch, RBC invited non-government and charitable organisations to submit proposals for funding under the project.

The BICAMH project will focus on the mental health development of children residing in children’s residential homes throughout the Bahamas.

The children’s residential homes provide a safe haven for abused and neglected children. As a result of their history of abuse and neglect prior to coming to the children’s residential homes, many of the children also require professional therapeutic services.

The BICAMH project will provide treatment-based programmes to children residing at the children’s homes. The project will assist in the expansion of the function of the children’s residential homes. This expansion will make it possible for the children’s homes to serve not only as a safe interim shelter for abused and neglected children, but to provide a nurturing, rehabilitative atmosphere.

“Our investment in the ‘Comprehensive Model for Treatment-Based Children’s Residential Homes’ project reflects RBC’s interest in supporting opportunities for all children to grow, to be healthy and to succeed”, stated Jan Knowles, RBC’s spokesperson.

She added that “the BICAMH project will raise awareness of, and reduce the stigma, about children’s mental health illness in the Bahamas”.

“On behalf of BICAMH’s Board of Directors and the children with whom we will work, we thank RBC for this grant that will allow us to continue our efforts to provide mental health services and promote awareness about the needs of children in our residential facilities”, said Dr Ava Thompson, executive director/clinical psychologist, BICAMH.

““BICAMH is pleased to partner with RBC in promoting child and adolescent mental health.”