A Mental Health Facility for Children

Judith Alpuche

Belize’s long-established mental health facility, originally known as “Seaview” when it was located along the Newtown Barracks in Belize City, and later “Rockview” after it moved to the George Price Highway, is now located in a quiet section of Belmopan and is now known as “Palmview.” But there has never been established a separate facility for younger mental patients – until now, with a specialized building completed on the Palmview grounds. C.E.O. in the Ministry of Human Development Judith Alpuche stated that it was a much-needed collaboration with the Ministry of Health to relieve a glaring need at the Princess Royal Youth Hostel, the former home of these troubled teens.

Judith Alpuche, C.E.O., Ministry of Human Development

“We have children that are having serious mental health problems and that’s one area that we have been working on also because we are not equipped to deal with young people who have mental health problems. So we have just, with the Ministry of Health, completed an adolescent facility at Palmview—renovated a building that will be utilized as an adolescent mental health unit. We will be moving some of the children over to that unit so that they can get better care because we are just not set up to be an adolescent mental health facility.”