Description
The municipalities of Quibdó, Buenaventura and Tumaco on Colombia’s Pacific Coast have been affected by long-term violence and inequality. In spite of the signing of the peace agreement with the FARC guerrillas in 2016, violence by different armed groups continues to persist. Growing up in a context where social relations have become marked by violence can have severe impacts on emotional wellbeing, which in turn can affect opportunities for personal and community development. This paper discusses how community-based organisations compensate for the precarious, inexistent, or unsuitable social policies in relation to youth mental health in Colombia’s Pacific region. It describes the major mental health issues faced by children and youth in this region, to then explain the strategies and systems developed by the communities themselves to provide support and take care of mental health issues of their children and younger generations. These include formal psychological interventions, but also a range of psychosocial, artistic and cultural practices. Strategies often have an intersectional or intergenerational focus, to address the complexity of long-term violence in a region marked by racial, gender and socio-economic inequalities. This paper presents the initial results of an ongoing three-year research project carried out by the Universidad de Los Andes (Colombia) and the University of Birmingham (UK). It identifies lessons learned on how to overcome gaps in mental health care provision in conflict regions, and on better adapt such support to the needs of specific ethnic, gender and age groups in Colombia’s pacific region.
