Record producer Andre Blackwood gives back to Fletcher’s Land for holiday season

Social impact advocate-turned-artiste manager and producer Andre Blackwood is doing his part for the community of Fletcher’s Land.

The Wolmerian alumni and founder of Ioki Productions, in partnership with Voices for Jamaica Today Foundation, where he is a community activist, executed a series of workshops focused on drug awareness, conflict resolution, and domestic violence, held at the Fletcher’s Land Community Centre ahead of the Christmas holiday.

The first workshop focused on gender-based violence which was championed by counsellor Jayson Downer of the Men of God against Violence and Abuse who spoke to the group of young men and women about abuse in relationships. In a 20-minute interactive discussion, he pointed out that there has been a significant increase in intimate-partner violence, citing, “Men are 90 per cent of the time perpetrators of intimate-partner violence.“

He advised the young men and women to not hesitate to discuss their feelings with a counsellor, if necessary, and proposed the idea of emotional regulation and intelligence as something that is lacking in today’s society.

The next workshop focused on restorative justice, conducted by representative Ava Williams Nunez from the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), who offered the same sentiment and recommended persons partake in free conflict resolution sessions provided by the MOJ in dissolving issues in relationships.

The third workshop centred around drug awareness conducted by Dr Ruth Deen from the National Council on Drug Abuse, Addiction Alert who touched on the fact that drugs can be in three categories: stimulants, uppers or downers, such as nicotine, alcohol, weed, and hallucinogens like Molly and LSD, respectively. She explained how drugs affect the body, something that most youths are unaware of, “If you see a friend struggling, tell an adult and get them some professional help. There are places that offer support. Abusing drugs is not worth the risk to the body,” she concluded.

When asked about being a part of the workshop, Dr Deen applauded the cause. “ I decided to participate in the workshop because of how drugs are affecting our society, especially our youth. Children need to be aware of what drugs and alcohol can do to the body,” she said.

The day’s events concluded with Apryl McIntosh, chief executive officer of Niche Entertainment, who spoke on the fundamentals of the entertainment industry, an industry record producer and advocate Andre Blackwood feels needs more education from a business perspective.

Blackwood says he hopes to continue this initiative in the new year. “We really want to help guide the youth of Fletcher’s Land by having more community-building and other programmes that will help them thrive and ultimately support the fight to end gun violence and gender-based violence in Fletcher’s Land,” he shared.