Hon. Robeson Benn, Minister of Home Affairs, on May 30, 2023, attended the official launch of the United States Government Youth Resilience, Inclusion and Empowerment (Y-RIE) Program under the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), held at the Guyana Marriot Hotel.

The Y-RIE program is a youth-centered, systems-strengthening activity that is based on a public health approach to violence prevention and will incorporate positive youth development approaches, which will target at-risk-youths between the ages of 10 and 29 years.

This program will see partnerships with the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security and other government ministries to strengthen government-provided social services by addressing service accessibility and the capability of service providers. Y-RIE will also improve the learning outcomes for youth, prepare them for workforce opportunities, facilitate youth connections to professional development opportunities, and work in communities to strengthen community and family systems that play a critical role in the lives of vulnerable youth.

The program, which is funded through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) over the next five years, will advance citizen security in the region. The Y-RIE program will also support national programs to create a safer, more prosperous, and more resilient Caribbean region.

Hon. Dr. Vindhya Persaud, Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Hon. Joseph Hamilton, Minister of Labour, Ms. Adrienne Galanek, Deputy Chief of Mission, United States Embassy to the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Ms. Phelps Feeley, Y-RIE Program Chief of Party, among other dignitaries and members of the media, were also present at the launch.