Massy gets ready to judge art competition entries for World Suicide Prevention Day

Last Updated on Friday, 9 September 2022, 14:21 by Written By Denis Chabrol

Entries for Massy Group’s first Art Competition in support of suicide prevention and mental health awareness close today, September 10, World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD), the company said.

Over the next four weeks, Massy and the E.R Burrowes School of Art will judge the entries and the winners will be announced on World Mental Health Day, October 10, 2022.

Four winners will be selected from two age categories, 13-17 years and 18-35 years. A total of $150,000 is up for grabs.

Massy Group launched the art competition on August 8, 2022. Participants were required to depict the theme “Creating Hope Through Action” on their canvas paintings.

Since 2018, the Massy Group in Guyana has continuously advocated for suicide prevention and mental health awareness through partnerships with government agencies and non-governmental organizations.

Head of the Steering Committee and Executive of the Group, Christpen Bobb-Semple says that every year the Group executes activities through the arts that are tailored towards youths.

Last month the Group launched the SAFE Women’s Grocery Voucher Programme in collaboration with the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security to provide 100 women with a $15,000 grocery voucher each, which they can redeem at any of the five Massy Stores locations in Providence, Turkeyen, Montrose, Vreed-en-Hoop or Ruimveldt.

The Ministry has already begun screening potential recipients for those vouchers.

Next month, the Massy Group plans to launch the men’s outreach programme in regions 3, 4, 6, and 10 to provide positive coping strategies on how to deal with the challenges of life. The objective is to help reduce the increasing number of murder-suicide incidents in the country.

The Group has also included its over 800 employees in its campaign by coordinating mental health awareness sessions facilitated by the Mental Health Unit as well as Life Skills Assessments by Dr. A. A. Anand, a certified psychiatrist from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences in Bangalore, India.

The Massy Group encourages everyone to educate themselves on the telltale signs of suicide and to reach out and help. If you or someone you may know may be at risk for suicide, seek help by calling the lifelines: 223-0001, 223-0009, 600-7896, or 623-4444. Information can also be obtained on the social media pages of the Group’s operating companies.