August 12, 2024
The Prime Minister
Antigua and Barbuda
Hon Gaston Browne
Office of the Prime Minister
Queen Elizabeth Highway
St. John’s
Antigua
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Dear Honorable Prime Minister Browne:
It was with deep sadness I learnt of the sudden passing of your Mother Ms. Patricia “Patsy” Richards.
It is my hope it was well with her soul and once we walk in the precepts of God we will reunite on that Glorious Day.
From the Parker and Hallpike Families I extend sincere Condolences.
As you are well aware Sir, our Families have had quite a History from Sunday School and Church Services at the St. John’s Wesleyan Holiness Church on Bishopsgate Street where Blondell was my close friend to Diane and I being class mates and friends at the Princess Margaret Secondary School.
You may also be aware, my Mother, was also a Patient and my Brother a Resident at what was once the Mental Hospital later renamed Clarevue Psychiatric Hospital.
I was fairly young therefore never had an opportunity to visit my mother BUT
I can tearfully recall over the twenty (20) or more years my brother was there the many times I sat on a rotten wooden bench to ensure he ate and enjoyed almost all the food and snacks I had taken for him.
I can tearfully recall some of the names of the Residents who swarmed my car sharing their personal stories and from the goodness of my heart, would give them change for snacks and other treats.
I can tearfully recall as I drove out how I would cry hysterically knowing the condition my brother lived in and the emotional coaster I would be on days after each visit.
I can tearfully recall his stories of being packed in a room with men and forced to share or exchange items just for peace and safety.
I can tearfully recall requesting visits on the weekends so we could spend time together but he would sleep most of the visit as his body was filled with medication.
I *ENVISIONED* a garden water fountain at the gate with ducks and other birds gliding on warm summer days,
A beautiful stone garden with exotic flowers and birds chirping in heathy looking trees.
A swing for relaxation, reflection and meditation,
And therapeutic music in the Visitors Waiting Area along with nice furniture.
I *IMAGINED* being able to visit him in his own room, admire how well he was cared for and his personal belongings being safe.
A vegetable garden both men and women could share the responsibility of cultivating without harmful tools.
A basketball and tennis court,
A sound proof room for lessons in playing instruments,
A kitchen to host cooking and baking classes
And a Carpentry shed so those who showed signs of stability could learn the art.
I *DREAMT* of an Auditorium for camaraderie, quiet Birthday Celebrations, Comedy Movie Nights and a place where lives could be changed through Praise, Worship and the Word of God.
I *ANTICIPATED* one day God would provide for me thus allowing me to remodel the facility, making it a HOLISTIC WELLNESS CENTRE
Instead, GOD has blessed you by allowing you to be my dear Prime Minister and He also strategically positioned you as the Minister, responsible for the Finances of our fair state.
I am therefore humbling appealing to you Sir, before we both leave this earth, with the assistance of the Minister of Health to ensure the Facility is improved. Should any other Family member be Residents, they can enjoy a healthier, happier more comfortable environment.
On August 5, 2021 while in the care of my family my brother fell ill. An Ambulance was called and I later joined him at The Sir Lester Bird Medical Center. On August 7, I was forced to sign his Discharge Form on the premise the Doctors could find nothing wrong with him. On AUGUST 11, he died suddenly. That therefore makes today, three painful years since his passing.
It is my desire once the renovation of the facility is completed to provide a canopy and bench in Honor of my Brother.
The lyrics of our National Anthem written by your late uncle, Sir Novelle Hamilton Richards declare “RAISE the STANDARD, RAISE it BODLY answer now to duty’s call.”
It is my hope the improvement of the Clarevue Psychiatric Hospital will be on the Agenda and in the Budget for 2025.
Respectfully,
Thalia Parker-Baptiste
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