Haiti Recovery & Development Company Forms Rebâti Santé Mentale Partnership

TAMPA, Fla. - April 7, 2015 - PRLog -- – Haiti Recovery & Development Company (HR&DC), a Tampa, Florida company whose mantra is “Dignity for the dead, hope and opportunity for the living,”today announced a strategic alliance with Rebâti Santé Mentale.  A US-based, non-profit organization dedicated to assisting the Republic of Haiti establish a country-wide mental healthcare system, Rebâti Santé Mentale will advise HR&DC's executive team on mental healthcare issues in Haiti, function as facilitator of work product and provide innovative country-wide planning and policy writing for select HR&DC initiatives.

"I was originally drawn to Haiti by the mass death and universal suffering caused by the earthquake in 2010,”said Jim Lange, CEO of HR&DC.  "And while it was startling to see the vast majority of Haiti’s physical infrastructure reduced to rubble, it’s been heartbreaking to constantly encounter an entire society teetering on the edge of an emotional collapse. Knowing a grieving Haiti could never fully recovery from the catastrophic event without psychiatric help, and knowing the country possess virtually no mental healthcare programs or practitioners, I searched long and hard for an organization skilled enough to build capacity within the Government of Haiti and compassionate enough to embrace a damaged citizenry. That organization is Rebâti Santé Mentale. Rebâti Santé Mentale was created specifically to address Haiti’s complicated dynamics and it’s near absence of a mental healthcare industry.  Their network of qualified practitioners, deep cultural awareness and willingness to do some heavy lifting makes them uniquely qualified to shepherd Haiti into the 21 century of mental healthcare practices.  They epitomize what I seek in an alliance partner for HR&DC’s planned wellness and reconciliation center developments and I am honored to have them join our team."

“Following the January 12, 2010 earthquake, many organizations emerged aiming to address various needs of Haitians in Haiti and abroad.  To date, few of these organizations remain, even fewer remain with designs to address the mental health needs of the Haitian population,” said Richard Douyon, co-founder and Board Member of Rebati Sante Mentale.  “Rebati Sante Mentale, (henceforth RSM), is an organization created by Haitian mental health professionals’ whose goal is to promote the mental well-being of their country.  Despite our limited budget, RSM has successfully implemented several projects in Haiti, hosted two (2) annual conferences in Miami and Canada attended each by 150 mental health professionals, celebrated World Mental Health Day with walk-a-thons in Haiti and abroad; and held a gala to highlight the organization’s efforts in Haiti and abroad.”

“We are now honored to have been invited by Jim Lange, CEO of HR&DC, into a Strategic Alliance Partnership to address mental health and wellness needs of the Haitian population (about 500,000) living in resettlement camps in Croix des Bouquets and in building wellness and reconciliation centers as part of the Haitian National Memorial and Peace Park initiative in the Titanyen region, site of the mass and unmarked graves created after the 2010 earthquake.  Jim is a unique person with strong moral values which RSM members happen to share.  Jim is all about the least and the most vulnerable among us.  He calls them the forgotten ones.  His vision is a straightforward one: unless you take care of the poor, the homeless and the deprived Haiti will never reach stability, healing and closure.  We want to be part of this vision and are committed to helping him achieve that dream.  RSM will use all of our manpower and expertise for the restoration of the Haitian psyche and soul, and we are anxious to move forward.

About Haiti Recovery & Development Company
Founded in January 2010 following the catastrophic Earthquake that leveled much of Haiti and its infrastructure, Haiti Recovery & Development Company mantra is: “Dignity for the dead, hope and opportunity for the living.”  HR&DC is fulfilling its “Dignity for the dead” mantra through its transformation of the mass graves in Titanyen into the Haitian National Memorial and Peace Park initiative, while “hope and opportunity” is served through the company’s broader mission, which is to assist with the creation of an economic engine whereby self-reliance is ultimately possible for Haiti and its people. For further details about the Haiti Recovery & Development Company log on to http://www.haitirecoverydevelopment.com.

About Rebâti Santé Mentale
RSM is a non-profit organization dedicated to the overall goal of establishing an effective mental health capacity in Haiti. RSM recognizes that this objective is also a critical part of Haiti’s health services, policy, and funding, and provides evidence-based systems, delivery, and treatment strategies.

RSM is the logical result of the Haitian Mental Health Summit that was convened at the University of Miami on June 26-27, 2010. That Summit itself resulted from the impetus and urgent necessity for an organized coalition of international mental health professionals to:

•  Assess the pre-existing and post disaster mental health situations of the population in Haiti and in the Haitian Diaspora;
• Develop specific strategic goals and action plans for working collectively in addressing mental health needs of Haitians;
• Create a network of mental health professionals and stakeholders focused on addressing behavioral health needs of Haitians in direct partnership with Haiti’s Ministry of Health.

Among the programs that RSM has been engaged in are the following projects: (1) Rebuilding the mental health infrastructure in Haiti; (2) Training of mental health teachers in Arcahaie; (3) Integrating Mental Health Into Health Care; 4) Organizing RSM’s 3rd annual summit in Canada; (5) ConductingA Walk for Mental Health in L'Arcahaie. For further details regarding Rebati Santé Mentale visit our website:  http://www.rebatisantementale.org/index.php?lang=en