Belizean Abroad Aims to Boost Mental‑Health Care

A Belizean abroad is hoping to bring home more than just good intentions, he wants to help tackle the country’s growing mental‑health crisis. Ron Blake moved to England in 2018 and has since built a career as a Mental Health Support Officer. From across the Atlantic, he’s been following the alarming rise in mental‑health emergencies and public incidents here at home, and he says he can’t sit on the sidelines any longer. Blake now hopes to open a dedicated residential home in Belize for people living with acute mental‑health challenges. The idea is still taking shape, but he’s already reaching out to local stakeholders, hoping to find partners who can help turn his vision into reality. Here’s what he told us.

 

Ron Blake, Mental Health Support Officer

“The idea for this initiative came from my experience working in mental health care in the United Kingdom. In my everyday work, I see individuals who were once believed to never be able to reintegrate back into the community. But with consistent care plans, structure, and the right support systems, many of them are able to stabilize, rebuild their lives, and successfully return to their communities. Seeing those transformations has given me a strong desire to bring that same structured care and opportunity to Belize. At the moment, mental health awareness and understanding in Belize is still developing, and there is often stigma attached to mental health conditions. As a trained Mental Health First Aider and my business partner, we are committed not only to providing care but also to helping educate communities and raise awareness about mental health. Through Monz & RBS Care, we want to create a safe residential facility that provides twenty-four-hour support and structured care for those who need it. We are calling on the Government of Belize to speak with us and work alongside us on this initiative. We are asking for their support in helping provide land so that we can build a facility that will help Belize and everyone that needs the care and support hat Belize desperately needs.”

 

Blake says he has reached out to the Government of Belize to propose his idea but is yet to receive a response.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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