Opposition Spokesman on Health and Wellness Dr Alfred Dawes, has called for a nationwide transformation in how Jamaica addresses mental health, describing it as a matter of “life, dignity, and national development”.

In his message marking World Mental Health Day, Dr Dawes said too many Jamaicans are suffering in silence while the country’s mental health services remain severely under-resourced and undervalued.

“Behind every statistic is a face, a family, and a future that can be transformed or tragically cut short, depending on how we respond,” he said. “Too many of our brothers and sisters are suffering in silence, ashamed, overlooked, or dismissed, while depression, anxiety, addiction, and other mental health challenges erode lives across every community and every social class.”

Dr Dawes argued that Jamaica continues to treat mental health as “a poor cousin in our health system”, warning that the consequences are visible in the growing number of untreated cases and social fallout across communities.

“When a young person battling depression is told to ‘shake it off,’ when an employee in crisis is penalised instead of supported, when a community member struggling with schizophrenia is abandoned on our streets, then we as a society have failed in our responsibility to care,” he said.

The Opposition Spokesman said this year’s World Mental Health Day theme, “Access to Services: Mental Health in Catastrophes and Emergencies”, is particularly relevant to Jamaica’s current challenges. He pointed to the impact of violent crime, economic pressures, and climate-related disasters as factors intensifying the nation’s mental health burden.

“We are a nation living through multiple crises,” Dr Dawes said. “If ever there was a time to ensure access to mental health care as an essential right, it is now.”

He urged policymakers to integrate mental health more fully into primary health care, strengthen funding allocations, and prioritise psychosocial support in national development planning.

“Jamaica must make a decisive shift: from silence to support, from stigma to solidarity, from neglect to national action,” he declared.

Dr Dawes also appealed directly to citizens to show greater empathy and openness in conversations around mental health. “We must look out for one another, speak openly, and demand better from those entrusted with our well-being,” he said. “For without mental health, there is no true health.”

He concluded by encouraging Jamaicans to “move beyond platitudes” and work toward a society where seeking help is “not a sign of weakness but an act of courage,” and where every citizen can live with dignity, purpose, and hope.