But he did not get much advice on the mental health front. The hosts of Sunup on 7 asked the minister about the issue of the homeless since, according to the mayor, it's a health problem.
Bernard agreed but said he hasn't had time yet to check out the mental health facilities in the country - but he has pledged to address it.
Hon Kevin Bernard, Minister of Health and Wellness
"I have not been able to visit the mental health facility they have in Belmopan but I think it's also a critical thing that we have to seriously look at. I can tell you when I come to Belize City sometimes on the weekend, my wife would always ask me why is it we continue to see people sleeping on the sidewalk, I said to her that it's all over the world, big America when I visited the US when I went there on a leadership program, I was taken aback by the number of homeless people we see there but we have to do something about that in Belize too. And I think it's a matter of concern to me and it's something that when I do meet with the team because like I said I'm meeting with every unit, every head of section and to make sure that I get an understanding what is in place, what is being done, and in this case we have to really find out what is being done on the mental health side for homeless people, how are we addressing those issues, where does the family structure play in all of this as well and what has been the communication between who is it and the medical personnel that has to be engaged in addressing these major issues so it is one of my priority as well to really look at."
