The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

NEARLY four years after Parliament passed sweeping legislation to overhaul mental health care in The Bahamas, the government is preparing to buy two safe houses for people with severe mental health challenges living on the streets — but has given no clear timeline for when the facilities will open.

Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Wellness Owen Wells said yesterday that his ministry intends to seek Cabinet approval to purchase separate facilities for men and women, acknowledging that provisions of the Mental Health Act dealing with safe houses have still not been brought into force.

The Act was passed in 2022 to replace legislation dating back to 1969 and was promoted as a major reform of the country’s approach to mental illness, including stronger protections for patients, expanded access to treatment and standards for mental health services.

Speaking at the World Suicide Prevention Day Symposium and Orange Alert Day 2026, Mr Wells said parts of the legislation remain outstanding.

“There are portions that are currently in force now,” he said, “and portions that we have to bring into force. Specifically, from my address today, what we have to bring into force is the one on safe houses.”

Mr Wells said his ministry would take a proposal to Cabinet “very shortly” seeking approval to purchase the facilities.

“We are currently in the process now,” he said. “Very shortly, my ministry will be bringing a paper to the cabinet so we can purchase these safe houses where people who suffer from these mental difficulties they will have a safe space, as I would have mentioned in my speech.”

However, Mr Wells did not say when the Cabinet paper would be submitted, when the properties could be purchased or when either facility is expected to begin operating.

He said the government intends to use the safe houses to accommodate people with mental health challenges who are living on the streets.

“You would see around the country,” Mr Wells said, “people who we all deem to have some mental challenges just on the street.”

The government, he said, wants to obtain secure spaces where those people could be housed.

“So what we are looking to do is get these safe spaces for them and move them in there,” he said, “and they'll be secure, the public will feel secure, so that's something that we’re looking to do very shortly.”

The announcement comes amid longstanding questions about the implementation of the Mental Health Act.

In September 2024, then Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Michael Darville acknowledged that the legislation had not been fully implemented despite the government previously presenting it as a central part of its response to the country’s mental health challenges.

Two months later, Free National Movement Senator Michaela Barnett-Ellis criticised the delay, arguing that timely implementation and enforcement of the legislation could have helped prevent two high-profile crimes. She accused the government of having “sat on it” for more than a year.

When the legislation was debated in Parliament in 2022, Prime Minister Philip “Brave” Davis said it was intended to expand mental health resources and ensure people received appropriate care and treatment within their communities.

Dr Darville also pointed at the time to rising homelessness and mental suffering, saying the legislation was intended to move The Bahamas towards community-based treatment and stronger protections for people with mental illness.

Mr Wells yesterday described the Act as among the most comprehensive in the region.

The proposed safe houses would also come against a longstanding shortage of specialised accommodation for homeless people, including those experiencing mental illness.

The Tribune reported earlier this year that Great Commission Ministries had struggled for decades to secure land for a dedicated homeless shelter.

Its founder, Bishop Walter Hanchell, has said many people living on the streets also suffer from mental health challenges. The organisation’s proposed 100-bed Hope City shelter has stalled amid a dispute over Crown land.