President of the Senate, Honourable Alvina Reynolds, has issued a heartfelt appeal for national unity and greater community involvement in the face of escalating youth violence and growing social issues across Saint Lucia.
Speaking candidly about her concerns, Senator Reynolds urged citizens, particularly those in faith-based communities, to move beyond passive observation and take real steps to support the island’s youth.
“In the Christian faith, you would know that faith without works is dead. Are you going to now call on your fellow brothers and sisters in the church to not only pray but use their time, their resources, their energy to help steer the young people in a more progressive and positive way?”
She referenced a familiar principle among Catholic communities known as the “three T’s”: time, talent, and treasure, as a framework for meaningful engagement.
Reynolds emphasized the importance of personal connection, especially for vulnerable youth: “Your time is very important. It’s to sit down with somebody, to make time for somebody who needs that time to be listened to, to provide some guidance, some counseling, some empowerment, some nurturing,” she said.
She challenged not just churches, but all religious and cultural communities to live out their values through service.
The Senate President also urged young people in the church not to confine themselves to the comfort of church walls.
“We are being challenged to step out into the deep, step out of our comfort zones, and find out where we can give more, do more, support more. To help just steer one young man in the right direction, it is worth it.”
Reynolds criticised the reactive nature of public discourse following violent incidents: “The noise that we make after a crime has been committed or a violent act has been done to someone, then we go back to sleep. We need to look left and look right every day. What can we do to make the situation better?”
She pointed to the wider problem of violence in various forms, not just among young men, but also domestic violence and strained family relationships.
“Violence across the board, not only the violent acts among boys. Domestic violence, for example. In the school setting. In the home. Parents and children, how parents deal with their children.”
Reynolds believes that effective parenting is central to reversing these trends. “We need the parenting skills. We need to raise our children better. We need to set the examples in the homes. It starts there,” she said. “The first teachers are the parents. Then it moves into the community, into the churches, into the schools.”
She concluded with a strong call for a unified approach to social reform, balancing faith and action.