Just imagine spending your life taking care of your family Working hard and making your contribution to society You raise grandchildren as your own everybody's needs you would beat And whoever came to your door make sure they got something good to eat The time has come you get old and gradually people get so distanced and cold All the sacrifices you've made till you reach the end of your years They're waiting for you to die to shed their crackers and tears Getting old is a pre- In 2006, the International Network for Prevention of Elder Abuse designated June 15th as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day This is to raise awareness of the issue of abuse of the elderly and to find ways to challenge this behaviour This year, 2020, we celebrate this day with the theme Lifting Up Voices to Create Awareness of Elder Abuse The World Health Organization defines elder abuse as a single or repeated act of lack of appropriate action Occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust which causes distress to an older person Implicit in this definition is a wide range of actions that are sometimes not considered as such but which constitutes elder abuse And so I believe that it is important to understand so that it is recognized that elder abuse is not only physical But rather it can be financial, verbal, sexual and can involve the violation of rights to medical care and attention Sharing and name-calling as well as discrimination which restricts their opportunities to participate in family and or community activities It can also invoke harm done to an older person by someone whom they know or have a relationship with Such as a spouse, family member, friend or neighbour And that it can be perpetrated by people who an elderly person relies on for assistance such as staff at a nursing home and pale helpers or caregivers Ladies and gentlemen, the aforementioned highlights that the fact that elder abuse can take a variety of forms And I want to draw your attention to that central point and to emphasize the need to recognize it in all forms and to address it You may recall an incident in December 2019 when we heard reports of one of our very own esteemed persons A lady of over 100 years being brutally attacked and raped within the confines of her own home While we all vehemently condemn the attack it forcefully directs attention on the broader fundamental issue of elder abuse And begs the question of how many such situations are out there, undisclosed and unknown How many of our older people continue to suffer unspeakable acts of violence, abuse and neglect without a voice, without recourse, without someone to say stop How many such situations are unreported and remain unattended to Certainly at the global level the World Health Organization recognizes it as a serious social problem and continues to bring attention to the issue of elder abuse throughout the world At the local level we are also concerned about elder abuse and commit to addressing it in a comprehensive manner Ladies and gentlemen, our current reality with the experience of COVID-19 and the economic, social and psychological challenges anticipated Will increase many stresses in the household and in society and may intensify existing risk for our nation's older people I implore you do not allow this situation to be a trigger for elder abuse As families, communities and governments try to cope with the new normal as a result of this pandemic I take this opportunity to remind us all that as people we must not forget our elderly Those people who have labored in the pursuit of raising families and building the economy of our country As the world's population continues to age and the same trend is recognizable in St. Lucia The issues and challenges of elder abuse continues to be a source of concern and national priority for our government The media population estimates of St. Lucia between 2015 to 2019 shows that 32 to 34% of the population is above the age of 45 Putting them squarely in the category of older people Last year alone St. Lucia honored more than 30 centenarians and it is our understanding that there were several more Ladies and gentlemen, as I indicated previously, the government through my ministry is committed to supporting our older people And to ensuring appropriate programming in that regard Through our public assistance program, many of our most vulnerable older people are provided with assistance in the form of a monthly cash transfer, health care and where necessary burial assistance Our residential facility, the Comfort Bay Senior Citizens Home, prides itself in providing excellent care to the residents on a daily basis And often the observation is made of fast improvements in individuals health condition over time compared to when they were initially admitted The government also provides subventions to residential facilities for the elderly as well as organizations committed to working with and supporting our population of older people Additionally, the SSDF's home care givers program continues to give much needed direct home care to many of our elderly and we are committed to continuing this program The Ministry of Health's universal health care program also ensures access to medications for many older people, particularly the ones suffering from chronic illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension Further, organizations such as HealthAge St. Lucia, club 60 groups St. Vincent de Paul and others continue to collaborate on projects and activities to provide relief and care to our elderly I wish to acknowledge the efforts of the aforementioned and others such as the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports for their assistance with programs such as senior games which helps to provide a platform for older people to showcase their talents and receive the honor and recognition they deserve I also recognize and salute the many unsung heroes in the form of neighbors, family members and friends who provide loving care and assistance to our older people on a daily basis, I say thank you for what you do As a further commitment of this government to ensuring that our elderly have a voice, an elder care unit was established within the division of human services in October 2018 to assist in providing specialized and committed social services to older people throughout our island Though small, that unit has done tremendous work to promote the interests and well-being of older people and to honor the efforts and contribution to our country Our government, through the division of human services and major stakeholders, is also in the process of facilitating a review of the national policy on older people for implementation thereafter We believe that the establishment of this framework will serve as a useful tool for providing structural support and guidance for our interactions with older people The government remains committed to working with all partners towards strengthening existing systems and developing new ones to meet various needs as they emerge However, there is much more to be done and we cannot and should not stop as long as one older person continues to suffer neglect or abuse of any kind We must stand united and strong against elder abuse and each of us must do our part as individuals and as a collective to stop such actions The message is clear, elder abuse cannot and will not be tolerated Of course, the government cannot do it alone and so as I close, I urge each person hearing me to take personal responsibility for positive action against elder abuse with your word, your actions, your choices and your behavior Let us lend a helping hand to meet the needs of older people, let us speak up against elderly abuse and report cases that we may be aware of Let us make a commitment today to communicate respect, to show consideration for the older people and to treat them with dignity Today on World Elder Abuse Awareness Day and every day, let us stand firm and say no to elder abuse Let us lift our voices to the awareness of elder abuse, let us do our part to end all forms of elder abuse I thank you Everybody's needs you would meet and whoever came to your door make sure they got something good to eat And then the time has come you get old and gradually people get so distanced and cold All the sacrifices you made till you reach the end of your years They're waiting for you to die to shed their crackers and tears All the sacrifices you made till you reach the end of your years


The final tour here, our team is complete. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the channel. My name is Jack the Buster, I is Shinobi. I'm checking out episode 90 of Dragon Ball Super today. And yes, after last episode, we now have Roshi and Tien, our final two members of our team of 10, for the tournament of power. Now, I guess we just, wait, I don't know. I hope the tournament starts to do. I'm very excited for it.  And let's get started. Ooh, mysterious. Oh, they're just in Zen. I think it's a couple of hours. I'm pretty sure wouldn't be much of a teacher. If I didn't also demand a test of your name, there's only one person who can help. Oh, shoot. One person. Goku, okay. Goku's carbon up before the big fight. If only this restaurant knew what they were like preparing him for. Let's keep putting them on my tab. I'm good for it. Don't worry, you'll be 10 million richer. I need that 10 million Zenny now more than ever. Yeah, but like, if you lose, that is no problem. What else are we gonna do? Prepare? I don't know. I mean, there's only so much preparation you can do now. Like in the old days. Aw. Great. It's like the old West, like he walks in the saloon. Listen here, partner. Dude, he looks mean. He is ready. Like Piccolo's really whipped your boy into tournament shape. Or she could just see the aura. My power is back. Goku and Tien versus Gohan. Bro, it's actually his like return to form. Everyone ready? This will be a two. Oh, Piccolo. Oh, 2v2. Oh, shoot. Dude, it's treating me. Do you have any new combo moves? Now's the time to try them. Combo moves. I'm expecting something going on, Piccolo. I don't know if it's gonna show their hand now or in the tournament, but we'll see. It's nice to live long enough to see this day. Aw. Just not nosed kid.  A son reaching for the same heights as his father. Wow. Roshi being like very like down the earth sentimental. It's cool. I feel like 99% of his moments are just like, ah, old man Roshi, the pervert. Dude, look at him. I'm scared of Gohan. Didn't you hear me say this is a training match? Oh, it's go time, baby. Father versus son. God dang. Dude, Gohan's brilliant shape. Katia, don't worry about it, man. They're not even super sane yet. You're getting pretty good, Gohan. I need to come up with a word for Gohan's form. I know a lot of you drop comments, especially on Patreon about what a lot of people call that form that go on as whatever it's just his aura. Yeah, let's see what kind of shape Piccolo's in. Teamwork, baby, it was all bait. Don't let him get overconfident. This whole tournament is gonna be teamwork. I'm really glad it's not gonna be 1v1s.  It's not gonna be like everybody at the same time fighting. It's gonna be a very interesting dynamic, seeing them try to use combos and whatnot. At least on that scale, though. How many people? Tien can't keep up, bro. Dude, I mean, he's like seeing the sheer level they're at. Dry beam? Oh. Yeah, he goes to Piccolo. It's supposed to be a teamwork thing. Oh, Piccolo's charging. Oh, hell, you forgot about him. He's gonna look out for his teammate. Oh my gosh. Dude, Gohan and Piccolo are working so well together. I mean, Piccolo hasn't done a whole lot yet, but Gohan's in shape.  Their whole universe is... Oh my gosh! Bro, Piccolo's just like a nuke! It's beautiful! What? Did he absorb it? What just happened? He just took it? That was like his aura, but just on his fist. Oh my gosh. Jeez, man! Dude, I feel like if Gohan was like fighting a kill, he could have really hurt Goku right there. He caught him really off guard. Gohan, this is getting far too dangerous. Just look. It's like cataclysmic. You've literally... Yeah, they better make this tournament of power arena like insanely tough. However... Yeah, no, Goku's not done. Neither of them have even gone super sane, bro. He looks like disappointed. Maybe because he hasn't gone to that level yet. I like how Roshi already knew. Oh yeah, here we are. Now we're serious. Oh, Goku will never say no. To any kind of fight. I don't know, man. It genuinely feels like Tien is just... I don't want to say behind because I mean, Kroen and Roshi are kind of around the same level of him, I think, but I don't know. Gohazu. It's so bright. I do have to pick the fighters for Universe 10. What if I end up enabling another reprehensible character? Oh, I feel kind of bad for him. One of many. Oh, the Elevants. Yeah, I would be... Oh my, there's no way I can pick. All I'm saying is that it's not that common. Is it not? It's with the whole Universe.  Oh, oh, mullet them. The 10 warriors on the 10th Universe team is quickly picked by our descendant. Oh, oh, he picked them for him. I am mullet them. Why didn't he just lead with that? The Molster. And we are going to represent our Universe at the tournament of power, brother. Okay. I like getting to see some fighters, bro. It's exciting. This contest is more. That's not true. Together a team because you couldn't recognize. Oh, these guys are trolling so hard right now. I almost forgot. Bro, they're all just gym bros. Hell no. It's essential that you chug a creamy protein shake every hour on here. Oh my gosh. Power like this, there's no way we're losing. Oh my God, their Universe is done. You guys are done. I feel bad. I kind of like Go-A-Soo. They're planting on this. Yep, we're resetting. Mm-hmm. Tien's like, I did not approve this. I'm rather curious to see what happens with them both going all out. I'm scared. I'm scared to see how all out the whole tournament goes. Here we go. This is what Go-On wanted to actually fight with. This is the distance you wanted to go. God, that yell. It's so guttural. My gosh. Oh, Goku's going to be so proud. Nice, but don't you still have to go Super Saiyan? What? No. I have a new goal. Oh. Oh. The best challenger. So nice, though. It's a father's dream. Oh, man. I bet Rosha and all of them won't even be able to keep up watching this. At least once Goku hits blue. I think Goku would need blue for when Go-On's in this form, no? Yeah, dude, look at him struggle. I guess Go-On is too. No, Go-On is even keeping up. Oh my gosh. Goku's just on another level. Can't be Goku, though. Can't be Goku. This is his show, baby. And before he actually, like, injures Go-On very badly, like, beyond the Senzu bean. He's pushing him. He's getting me even more ready for the tournament. This is how you get a Saiyan stronger. Oh my gosh. He's, like, making him keep up walls and trying to push his power higher. Making him keep up on the defensive and offense. Oh. Oh. Oh my goodness. It's like a little tease for the tournament. Go-On's giving it to him. Oh my gosh. And before they split, they can hear it. Oh, Vegeta's going to get so jealous. Oh, he's happy. He loves this stuff, man. Boy, he makes him horny. That's what I've been saying, bro. He's laying in blue. There it is. Everything, baby. I was talking about Sien not being strong enough, but it really is going to be a lot of teamwork. I like how Hypen's getting them, though. Like, Piccolo and them. Oh, the choir. This is a Kaioken. This is his strongest. Blue Kaioken times 20, no? Oh my God, they're like two stars. What happens when two stars collide? Oh my gosh. It's beautiful. Well, they're actually going to, like, destroy the city. It's done. It's done. Who's on top? They traded blows. Oh, no. Yeah, there it is. I knew Goku at his highest is still way higher than Go-On at his highest, but dude, Go-On's come far. He's really pulled out all the stops. Is that, like, an instinct to do that? Like, he's passing out? He feels like it's like his natural body. Nobody catch him. That, there it is. Papa's got you. Dang, dude, what a fight. Ha-ha, that smile. Let's keep pushing each other, son. He sleeps peacefully. As far as we can. Sorry for any trouble when we fought two on two. Oh, hold on. I've decided on a captain for the second. Oh, Tien. The man who will lead us in the tournament. Oh, wait, Go-On? Oh, in retrospect, I'm happier with that. Go-On's got the smarts and the strength. Sorry, Tien. What about Shou-Tzu? The heavy hitters from across the country have also been training. Oh, shoot, can we see, sir? 80 fighters. 80, that's how many. You have four hours and 30 minutes. Four hours! Wait, I swear it was four hours last episode.  So, I mean, I'm assuming that we're gonna, like, gather the team soon, because now Go-On has really shown Goku what he has. I don't think he really needs to try out Tien and Roshi anymore. Krillin's good. The Androids are good. I don't know, man. It feels really close. I like how we got a little tease about Universe 10 this episode, and, like, how scared I kind of am of Topps Universe, the contrast of their Universe instead. How, I don't think they stand a singular chance. Maybe it's the show wanting me to think that. I don't know, maybe I shouldn't fall for this. But the fact that it's just a bunch of Jim Bros is so funny, I don't even care. But I have to say Go-On has really blown me away, blown away my expectations in terms of how ready he was for this. He's trained and pulled out more than anybody else for the tournament. Thanks to Piccolo, of course, partially. But he's taking this very, very, very seriously. And like I said, I know it makes Goku happy, and it even makes Vegeta happy from afar to see this Saiyan and the pride he has. But guys, this has been it for my reaction episode 90. The tournament of power drops closer. If you're new to this channel, don't forget to drop a sub, and I'll catch you in the next one. Peace, peace.


Hello, this is David Digger Hernandez and you're watching Spirit Church here on the Encounter TV Network. I'm going to finish up now my two-part message on the end times by looking at the words of Jesus. And in the words of Jesus we find that there is coming just before his return a great revival, the final harvest. But first, Stephen Moctezuma is here with me. He's going to lead you in some very anointed worship and then we're going to get right into this message here. It's Stephen Moctezuma. No turning, the cross before me, the world, the cross before me, the world behind, the cross before No turning back, no turning, though none, I still will fall, though none go with, I still will fall, though I still will fall, no turning, no turning, no turning back. So last week we ended on verse 9. Let's jump right into this. Matthew 24 verse 10. And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. What's interesting to me here is that Jesus is talking about people turning away from him, meaning these people are believers. There is going to be a great falling away from the faith. First Timothy chapter 4 verse 1 says, Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith, they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. Now an entire lesson can be devoted to this portion of Scripture alone. And we are seeing it. I am seeing and so are you. Leaders of the Christian faith suddenly announcing, I no longer have faith. Why is that? Well, this is not something that just happened overnight. This is because deception is taking root in the hearts of many who proclaim to be followers of Christ. And the reality is this, it's going to get worse. You will be shocked at the many leaders. You will be shocked at the many denominations. You will be shocked at the many groups that turn away from biblical truth to embrace worldly culture, worldly ideas. And this is going to affect many. There will be a great falling away from the faith. Now I'm not a doomsday seer. I don't enjoy ministering on these things necessarily, but they're the truth. They're the reality. And so I need to prepare you. It's my duty as a minister of the word of God to teach all aspects of the word. Sometimes I teach on faith. Sometimes I teach on miracles. I primarily teach on the Holy Spirit. But this is what God has put on my heart to teach to you. This is something that you have to hear. It's preparation for these times. Now this great falling away from the faith happens because people aren't rooted in the word. They're not rooted in prayer. They're not rooted in the body of Christ. So this is a warning to you. If you're a believer who does not have a prayer life, who does not delve into the word of God daily, who is not a part of a community of strong believers that the scripture encourages us, commands us to be a part of, then you are at risk for falling for deception. I just read not too long ago this article about this church, mind you, a church that hired a psychic to serve on the pastoral team. There are deceptions everywhere and we need to be prepared. We must know the word. We will not know deception unless we know the word because the word is the light. And if we have the light, we can see in the dark places. We can see and expose all of the deception of the enemy. Verse 11 says, And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. So many will rise and I believe this is not only describing false religions, but this is also describing twisted versions of Christianity. Be careful, be very careful. Jesus must be the center. Verse 12 says, Sin will be rampant everywhere and the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. So, sin is rampant. I want you to look at this world and consider the fact that sin is rampant. This is what Jesus is describing here. People are losing their minds. If I'm just being real with you, much of what is out there is pure lunacy. It is insanity in the strictest definition of the word. The world is losing its mind.  It's backwards. So we as the church must be prepared. We must stand strong. We must stand on the word. Now look, we're not by any means in survivor mode. We're victorious. We're winning. The kingdom is advancing. The gospel is spreading. The church is growing. Revival is occurring. The Holy Spirit's power is touching lives all around the world. We're on the winning side. But that doesn't mean that it's not possible to be deceived. We must find our footing. This is not a message of defeat. This is not a message of retreat. This is a message of preparation so that you can guard your heart against the deception of the enemy. So there's going to be a falling away from the faith. There's going to be a rise in false prophetic voices. There's going to be a rise in sin. The world is going to become more perverse. And the Bible lists all of these signs. And as I mentioned in part one of this message, you'll hear of wars and rumors of wars. Kingdom will be divided against kingdom. There'll be famines and earthquakes and many parts of the world. So the Bible begins to describe all of these events that begin to happen. But then it says the end is not yet or the end is not coming at this point. Or in other translations, it words it differently. But the primary message is that all of those signs, they are bad things. But those aren't necessarily these signs that Christ is about to return. Here is what the Bible says. So let's look to the verse 14. But I want to preface it by saying that if you'll notice, Jesus has kind of been building this point. He's saying, look, there's going to be a rise in people who are claiming to be the Messiah. And then he says, but the end won't follow immediately. Don't panic. There'll be wars and rumors of wars. But don't panic. Then he says kingdom will rise against kingdom. Famines and earthquakes. He says, but all of this is only the first of birth pains with more to come. All the way down to verse 14 where he says, and the good news about the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world so that all nations will hear it. And then the end will come. Wow. This was a paradigm shift for me. I had to change my mentality. I had to change the way I looked at the end times. Before I had really studied this, I was of the impression that all of the bad things happen and then it ends. But no, Jesus is saying the gospel will be preached to the ends of the earth. And then the end comes. So we're on the winning side. This is actually a good sign. Wars and rumors of wars, not so good. Famines, earthquakes, not so good. Falling away from the faith, ramparts and not so good. Ah, but those aren't the signs of the end. The sign of the end, one of the main ones. One of the main ones is that the good news will be preached and then the end comes. In other words, there's a great revival that occurs before the return of Christ. This is a message of victory. This is a message of hope. This is a message about a light that is going into the darkest of places. Now in verse 15, we'll continue. I just want to finish out the chapter because it's important and I want to make one more point concerning the gospel in the end times. And I'll make that point toward the end of the chapter but let's go through the verses just so that you get the full context here. Verse 15 says the day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about. The sacrilegious object that causes desecration, standing in the holy place. Reader, pay attention. So this is talking about what scholars call the abomination of desolation. And for cross-reference on this you can look up Daniel chapter 9 verse 27. Now there's a great debate about what exactly this is describing. Some are very confident in what they believe this to be. I am willing to be convinced either way. But what I do know is that something is going to happen at the temple, the holy place. Something is going to happen there that desecrates that place. And that will be a sign of the end times as well. Verse 16 says then those in Judea must flee to the hills. A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return even to get a coat. How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days. And pray that your flight will not be in the winter or on the Sabbath. For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. Wow. And it will never be so great again. Verse 22. In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God's chosen ones. Now here's what's interesting to me. I don't believe that this is necessarily describing the tribulation itself. I could be wrong. I believe this has to be describing leading up to the tribulation because the Bible says, but it will be shortened for the sake of God's chosen ones. This tells me that believers are present when this is happening. Now some believe that believers are present during the tribulation. Look, again, this is all debatable. But what we do know for sure is that a time like this is coming. Verse 23. Then if anyone tells you, look, here is the Messiah. Or there he is. Don't believe it. For false Messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God's chosen ones. Now we have to be very careful here because some people put this verse on my videos, my content. They'll say, oh, verse 24, false prophets will arise, they'll do great signs and wonders. I love the way my friend Pastor Vlad from Hungry Generation puts it. He made an observation about this verse that I think is very poignant and straight to the point. So it was a great truth he mentioned. He said Jesus here was not talking about miracles. He was talking about false miracles. He was talking about demonic miracles. So just because a ministry prays for the sick or a pastor believes in healing, that doesn't mean this verse is describing them. Again, this is specifically talking about the false prophets and the false Messiahs. Verse 25. See, I have warned you about this ahead of time. So if someone tells you, look, the Messiah is out in the desert. Don't bother to go and look. Or look, he is hiding here. Don't believe it. That's another deception that's happening. Look, Jesus is appearing here. Jesus is appearing there. Don't believe it. It's nonsense. And you'll see it in the fruit of these false preachers. Verse 27 says, Immediately after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened. The moon will give no light. The stars will fall from the sky and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens. And there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. He will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet. And they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world, from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.  Let's go down to verse 40. So it's talking about the fact that Jesus is going to return. It's going to be as a lightning flash. It's just going to come quick and he's going to return. Now, verse 40 says, Two women will be grinding flour at the mill. One will be taking the other left. So you two must keep watch for you don't know what day your Lord is coming. In verses 38-39, the Matthew chapter 24 describes that the people will be continuing with life, like in the days of Noah. They were having parties and festivities and weddings and just living life. And they had no idea that a flood was coming to wipe them off the face of the earth. And in the days of Noah, they were continuing with everyday living, carelessly, happily, not a thought in their mind about the judgment of God when suddenly the rain began to fall. And they didn't know until it was too late that the judgment of God had visited the earth. So it will be in our days. Weddings will continue. People will make their plans. I have a birthday party to go to this week. Then in three months, a wedding. Eight months from now, my child will be born. So on and so forth. I'm graduating. I'm starting a business. I'm making plans. I'm living life when suddenly the Son of God will appear. It will be suddenly. This is why we must be prepared. We have to be ready for him. Verse 45, how are we prepared? A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. So what is it that God requires of us? What is it that God wants from you and I? As believers, what are we to be doing? Well, we're to be winning the lost. We're to be telling the world. We're to be declaring the truth. We're to be calling men to repentance. When Jesus returns, I want him to find me living obediently. When Jesus returns, when my Lord, my master, my God, my king, when he returns, I want him to find me faithful. I want him to be pleased with me. I don't want him to be angry. I want him to tell me, well done, good and faithful servant. So what are we to be doing? And these times we must be preaching the gospel. Now is not the time to say, oh, the world is getting dark. It is what it is. The Bible prophesied it. Jesus said it. So it has to happen. No, this gospel shall be preached to the ends of the earth. And then the end will come. We must be busy for the return of the Lord. Not passive, not just standing in a corner somewhere, terrified of what's happening in the world and waiting for him to come and pick us up. No, we must be engaged. We must be about our Father's business. Jesus said something interesting. And I'll read this one last portion in verse 34 and 35. There's a little bit of a controversy. There's a little off topic, but because it's in the chapter, I need to cover it. It's absolutely something I must address. Verse 34 and 35 say, I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear. Some people have trouble with this verse. They said, I thought Jesus said that this generation won't pass away before all these things happen. But those people that Jesus was talking to have passed away and those things have not happened. Well, two explanations for this, very simple. One is that word there, generation, actually can mean race. So this race, the Jewish people. And in fact, there is some indication that this might be what he's saying because he referenced the fig tree, which is a prophetic symbol for the nation of Israel. So when Jesus says this generation shall not pass from the scene, he's saying this people, this group, this race of people shall not pass from the scene. Another explanation, which is much more simple, is the fact that I, and this is the one I believe, said this generation will not pass. What generation? The generation that experiences all these signs, not the generation he was addressing right then and there, not the people standing in front of him. And in fact, the Greek seems to imply this. There's some debate about this, I understand. But these are the two explanations that can be given for this. Now, the reason I say this to you is, number one, because I know you're going to read that chapter and I don't want you to be left with what you think is a contradiction. Number two, it's important to realize that Jesus here is saying that this generation that sees these signs is not going to pass from the scene. It very well may be that you and I are the ones who see the return of the Lord. Keep that in mind and live your life in light of the return of Jesus. Live knowing that he can return at any moment. Be busy, be preaching. We have a job to do, revival is coming and the gospel shall be preached to the ends of the earth. Well, that is it for the lesson. I want to pray with you now. I want to pray that God would give you a boldness to share this gospel. But the gospel might advance and we might see souls saved by the millions. Father, in the name of Jesus, buy your Holy Spirit and do that one in watching with power from on high and give them that boldness. Give them that utterance. Give them the words to speak. Put a fire in them, Lord. Set a fire in their heart that they might declare your word. Give us strength to stand in these times, Lord. Help us not to compromise your truth. Help us not to shrink back in fear. Help us not to waver in our belief of your word. But help us, Lord, to continue on to victory for your kingdom is advancing and we thank you that we can be a part of it. In the name of Jesus, we pray.  Say amen. Well, I want to welcome now the new members of Spirit Church. There you are up on the screen. We love you and we are praying for you. I always say that because I always mean it to be like information on how you can join the Spirit family. Now over 10,000 members strong. It's absolutely free. Go to DavidHernandezMinistries.com slash Spirit Church. When you sign up, you're going to get an email from me every single week with a brand new teaching, a worship cover from Stephen Mockezuma and the best part, you can reply to that email for prayer support from our ministry staff. Now to your comments. And these comments come from Stephen Mockezuma's beautiful cover of the worship song, Breathe. If you haven't checked it out, be sure to go and look at Stephen Mockezuma's worship playlist here on the EncounterTV network. A wonderful collection of some of the most anointed songs I've ever heard.  And if you listen to the playlist all the way through, as long as YouTube doesn't put ads on it. Sometimes we have to, not because we put them on, but because the creators of the songs do. But for the most part, the songs just kind of flow real nicely together so it won't disrupt your prayer or study time. Go and check out Stephen's playlist and while you're at it, subscribe to the channel on YouTube.com slash EncounterTV. Click the notification bell when you do so that you can receive notice of when we're putting out videos. And I'm going to now read your comments from Stephen's worship cover of Breathe. But if you'd like me to potentially read your comments from this week's video next week, then be sure to leave a comment in the comment section now. Here are the comments from Breathe. The first commenter writes, Praise God, you have such a beautiful, beautiful voice. Julie White writes, Beautiful song of worship unto our holy living God. His presence is here and my tears are falling. Olucci Ozone writes, I love this song. I am lost without you, Jesus. And the final commenter says, I love your voice. I'm always listening to all the songs on the worship playlist. Much love from Australia. Well, all the way from Australia, this content really does go all around the world. And it's about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can do whatever he wants with this channel. In fact, we say, this is the Holy Spirit's channel. He can do with it whatever he wishes. Now, let me be honest with you. I want to be real with you. I want to tell you something. So please hear me. The ministry is expanding very fast. And it's expanding faster than even I believed for. God is taking this ministry to new heights, new levels, and very rapidly. Like it's happening quick. Those of you who watch from the outside, you can see it. You can see it in the content. You can see it at the events. It's happening. And so here's what we need. We need people like you to stand with us together and say, you know what, Brother David? You know what, Brother Stephen? You guys aren't alone. We want to stand with you. We need financial support. Now, we don't sell the gospel. The content is free. The events are free. What we do is the biblical way, which is we take up free will offerings from the people of God. So I'm asking you watching this. Not somebody else. I'm asking you. God is speaking to you in your heart. I'm asking you to become a partner with our ministry for $30 a month or more. If you do $30 a month or more, I will send you a copy of either Carriers of the Glory Encountering the Holy Spirit in every book of the Bible or 25 truths about demons and spiritual warfare. I'll sign it. I'll send it to you. It'll be my gift to you just to say thank you for coming up to being my monthly supporter. Now, if you can't do that, maybe you can do a smaller amount monthly. That's totally fine too. In fact, it's needed. Don't say all what I'm doing is so small so I'm not going to do it. Or I can only do 10 a month. I can only do five a month. So they don't need me. No, if a hundred of you do 10 a month, it's an extra $1,000 a month that we can put into the gospel. So do it by all means. Remember, the power is in togetherness.  You can also give a one-time gift on our ministry website. To partner with us or to give a one-time gift, go to davidhernanisministries.com slash donate. We've actually added two giving options. We've added an option to where you can give stock donations. Many of you have requested that, especially those of you in business. And we added Apple Pay.  If you go there now, davidhernanisministries.com slash donate. Give a gift today and we sure will appreciate it to help us continue to do what we do in advancing the Kingdom. Well, that is it for this edition of Spirit Church here on the EncounterTV Network. Until next time, remember, nothing is impossible with God. We'll see you in the next video. Thank you.


With its vibrancy and diversity Bringing alive The spirit of Vasudheva-Kottumbhakam One earth, one family, one future toilets in an apartment


Hello everyone, my name is Ahmed Dan of Iran Journal. Credit cards come with lots of parks and features that a lot of people aren't aware of. Today I'll talk about how you can travel for a lot less with some credit cards that offer annual companion flight. An annual companion flight is a feature that lets you purchase a second ticket at a heavily discounted price when you purchase a regular ticket paying a full price. And there are lots of credit cards that come with this feature and today I'll talk about two credit cards that offer annual companion flight. The first credit card that offers annual companion flight is the WestJet RBC World Elite MasterCard. When you buy a plane ticket anywhere within the US and Canada where WestJet flies paying a regular price excluding Hawaii and Puerto Rico, you get an annual companion flight for $99 excluding fees and taxes. You can read my review on the WestJet RBC World Elite MasterCard on Iran Journal. The second credit card that offers annual companion flight is the MBNA Alaska World Elite MasterCard. Buy ticket at regular price anywhere within Canada, US including Alaska and Hawaii or Mexico where Alaska Airlines flies and you get an annual companion flight for starting $121 US. There are other cards that offer annual companion flight with a catch such as you have to fly on reverse points or you have to spend certain amounts. American Express Airmass Reserve Card, American Express Aeroplane Plus Reserve Card, American Express Aeroplane Plus Platinum Card and RBC British Airways Visa Infinite Card. That's all for today. Thank you.


I am feeling so called to make this video to say yes more. And the reason is, is because, well, and I think you probably do too. If you're new here, I'm Sarah and I help teach people find inner happiness through fitness and spirituality. And today, we're going to talk about saying yes more. More, and letting go more. Quick disclaimer, I know we're in weird times right now, this isn't necessarily going to apply.  This can be used for now during these weird, crazy sort of lockdown times or any other time. Now, I have always been a huge social butterfly. Ever since I was little, I never really liked being alone. I always loved feeling the energy off of other people. I loved being around people. I just truly thrived in that way. That being said, this past year between COVID and of my spiritual awakening journey, that has completely, completely changed. I have become such a hermit. I don't wanna leave my house. I don't want to go anywhere. Don't wanna speak to another human being. It's very odd. It's a very drastic change in such a short amount of time. I have learned that I absolutely love my alone time and I thrive there. But as much as I love my alone time, there is nothing, nothing like human connection.  Nothing like closing your eyes and dancing when maybe you don't even like the music, but it doesn't even matter.  So I was extremely close with my maternal grandfather. Unfortunately, he did pass away a little over a decade ago. But there were two words he used to use religiously that always stuck with me and they still do today. And they are making memories. And I try my very best to live by that motto to say yes to experiences, to say yes to memories and to say yes to life. And these can range from very, very, very big things. A small thing could be playing games with my roommates at night before we go to bed. Sometimes they're talking about, oh, let's play, you know, we play a lot of different games at night, you know, Yatsim, Monopoly, Dior, Rummy, whatever we feel like playing. And sometimes I have that nagging voice inside my head saying, Sarah, you really need to go to bed, you really need to get rest for your day tomorrow. And you know what? Sometimes I do listen to that voice. Sometimes I know that for my mental wellbeing, like I do need my alone time and I do need to recharge. But more often, I choose to say yes. I choose to have that human to human connection with people that I love and care about.  And guess what? In the next day, like, oh man, if I had just gone to bed 30 minutes earlier and didn't play those card games, I would have had such a better day today. No, that doesn't happen. And here's an example of a bigger one. Two days after Christmas this past year, a good friend of mine who I've been friends with for well over a decade invited me to come snowboarding with her and her brother, his girlfriend and one of their other friends. She now lives on the West Coast. I live on the East Coast. So we don't get to see each other too often. I could think of a million reasons not to go. It was a long drive.  Most of the mountain wasn't even open because it was early in the season. The Airbnb we were staying at was 45 minutes from the mountain. So even more driving. The money, especially right after Christmas. The lodge being closed due to COVID. The list goes on and on. And I was gonna say no. Knowing that I could have seen her another time when she was home before she traveled back to California. Then Grim Buzz boys popped into my head. Making memories, making memories. Making memories. Like this video. Got you on that one, but like, you know, please. So I said yes. And yes, the drive was long. It was about a five hour, you know, round trip. But I got to spend one-on-one time with her, which I very infrequently get to do.  We were freezing. I was cold. Ugh, it was just, there were no utensils. There was nothing to eat out of. There was no microwave. It was so far out in the boonies. We couldn't even get delivery. We went to the grocery store and got all the stuff to make and we got to the Airbnb and there was no kitchen.  And I had the best time ever.   And it's gonna be a memory that I'll cherish forever. So I'm here to tell you, say yes more, live your life more, make more memories. Because we never get that time back.  I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is value your human connection.  The person that I went snowboarding with, we lived together for four years straight. We enjoyed each other's company for four years straight. We went through everything together. And it was so meaningful to have the 24 hours with her. And I don't regret it. It was okay that the launch was closed. It was okay that the half the mountain wasn't open or that the Airbnb was freezing because we all sat around the table playing games and laughing and joking and just being free. So I wanna encourage you to be free and say yes.  Think about how meaningful the memory will be. You get to go to your friend's baby shower. Your friend's having a baby. It's a miracle. Even when you don't feel like it. Even when you wanna curl up on the couch and do nothing, say yes. Say yes to adventure. Say yes to love. And say yes to your life. So if you can think of anything that you said yes to that you didn't think that you wanted to do, let me know in the comments below. I hope you guys enjoyed this video.  You'll never get that time back. I love you guys so, so, so much. Please don't forget to like this video and subscribe if you haven't already. I will see you guys next Thursday. And don't forget, be limitlessly yourself.


Hey, this is Brett, and this 2017 Ram 2500 Crew Cab Short Box Laramie Sport Edition is stock number 14303Z. I am here at Summit Automotive in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, you're new and used heavy duty truck and Ram headquarters. This 2017 Ram 2500 has the 6.7 liter Cummins diesel engine. It's paired up with the 6-speed, 68 RFE automatic transmission. This truck has been fully safe and inspected by our service shop per the state of Wisconsin. Inspection process that has a fresh oil and filter change. All the fluids have been checked and topped off and this truck is 100% ready to go. Super clean all the way around considering the age and mileage on it. I'm going to go all the way around in this video inside, underneath, start it up, take a look under the hood, give you the most accurate representation that I can, show you all the options. Granite Crystal Metallic is the color, I shoot all my videos in 4K. If you like the video, subscribe to the YouTube channel, click the bell notifications, get updates on the videos I do each and every day as well as having access to one of the largest catalogs of vehicle and heavy duty truck walk-arounds on YouTube.  They are in fantastic condition. This is just a little bit of dust on there, but no scuffs or scrapes anywhere. It has open country Toyo tires. These are AT tires. These are LT 275 65R20s. I would say they have right around half the tread left on them. Frame and underbody is in nice shape. It does have the Bilstein shocks, part of the 4x4 off-road suspension package. This is a one owner clean title history, clean car fax from right here in Wisconsin. Front fender is in excellent shape. You do get the projector lamp headlamps, the LED running lights, part of that Laramie package. The Sport Appearance Package gives you the painted front and rear bumpers. No dents or dings on there. It does have the front bumper parking sensors. Looks really nice. The hood is in nice shape as well. I didn't see any major dents on there. Passenger side front fender is in great shape as well. You get the blacked out Ram 2500 and Cummins logo there, and the passenger side front wheel no major scuffs or scrapes on there. Granite Crystal Metallics got a lot of metal flake in it. Really a good looking color. It's got some purples and some blues in that metal flake. Anyways, you can see just how nice that paint is. As you go down this side of this 2017 Ram 2500 take, notice how clean the body is, how reflective and mirror like that paint is. I take these HD videos so if you're far away or even if you're close by, just cannot make the trip down, but you're still interested in purchasing the vehicle. You can see the truck here, the truck, and of confidence in what you're looking at before you even get here. When you do get here, there's absolutely no surprises, and you can make a smart and informed buying decision from wherever you're at. Now if this video helps you make that buying decision, let your salesman know that you saw the video that was helpful and that Brett sent you. Back wheel is in excellent shape, and the back tires have just as much tread as the front tires. Frame and underbody looks really good back here as well, as all the remaining factory exhausts, so it hasn't been altered in any way. Looks pretty nice underneath. Lower rockers and cab corners all look really good, and it does come with the factory painted step bars. You get the fender flares, part of the Laramie package. 4x4 off-road decal on the box there. That's just a sticker, if you didn't like it, you could always remove it. Rear bumpers in great shape, no dents or dings, does have the backup parking sensors full tolling package, which includes the receiver hitch 4-pin and 7-pin wiring, and the tailgate is in really nice condition as well. You do get the blacked out RAM and 4x4 lettering on there as well. Comes with a very nice spray and bed liner. It does have LED bed lights, and the bed's in really nice shape. That spray and bed liner goes on to the tailgate, which is very nice as well. Coming around to the driver's side, just as clean as that passenger side. Didn't see any dents or dings on the box, and I'm fully convinced that this truck looks as good as it does because it's got mud flaps on it. Always want to get mud flaps on your truck. Back wheel, no scuffs or scrapes on there. And down the rest of this side of the truck, cab and doors all look really good. I didn't see any dents, I didn't see any dings. Very nice and clean for a 2017. Has the heated fold-up tow mirrors, built-in directional signals. They fold up like so, and they fold in like that. Take a quick look at the back seats. No rips, no tears back here. It does have the latch child safety system for any child car seats you may have. It does have the power sliding rear window with the built-in rear defrost. Once again, no rips or tears on those seats. Very nice condition. These seats are heated on the outboard side.  It's nice if you've got muddy boots or tools, put them on there.  They've got a nice flat place to lay.  Get an all-weather floor mat back here. They're your heated seat buttons, as well as a 12-volt power point. And then you get in-floor storage back here with removable bins for easy cleaning. You can put ice and drinks in there.  Or if you're not in Wisconsin, just extra storage space. There is your side-turned airbags on your front seats. Child safety locks on the back doors, inside and bottoms of the doors. A little dusty, but no corrosion on them. Look really good. Show you the VIN sticker here. No previously owned in Canada trucks here.  No rips, no tears on these seats. You get the Laramie embossed into the backrest. Both of these front seats are heated and cooled. You get memory driver seat with lumbar, factory all-weather floor mats up here as well. Auto headlamps, power pedals, power windows, locks and mirrors. You get the leather bolster, the wood grain trim. These mirrors do power fold in. I always like showing both sides. So you know that both sides are working properly. Hop inside, check out the miles, the radio and everything that this truck has to offer on the interior. You get the Laramie animation there. We'll zoom it down here. You can see that this one has 67,261 miles. You do get the digital speedometer. Compass, outside temp, miles per gallon, average and fuel range. You can change all those corners to read whatever you want. Instrument cluster is very nice and clean. Comes with the heated leather wrap steering wheel, cruise controls on the right, Bluetooth and information center controls on the left, audio controls on the back of the steering wheel. There is your shifter for that six speed 68 RFE automatic transmission with the optional tap shift. This one comes with the Uconnect 4 or 3C radio. It does have the factory navigation system. There is Highway 41, so you can see that is working nicely. You do get AM, FM and Sirius XM radio capabilities. You also have your heated seats, cooled seats and heated steering wheel controls there as well as your backup and cargo cams, so I'll show you that. There's your backup cam that's working nicely and there is your cargo cam that is also working nicely. And then you get all your different apps right here, anyways, all those apps. Down here are your more tactile volume tune and climate controls, including your dual climate controls.  You can turn those off and on. It does have a 115 volt, 150 watt plug-in and you get your keyless entry with the remote start on there. That key fob is in nice shape. Simple glove boxes, passenger side, floor mat and seat are in excellent condition as well. The headliner is in very nice condition as well. Smells very clean inside this truck. I don't think it's been smoked in. You get speakers in the ceiling, map lights, power sign, rear window controls, home link buttons for your garage door security systems and lane systems, assist to 911 buttons in the mirror and then you get the Alpine premium sound system badge right there, which is also how you get those speakers in the ceiling. Let's start it up and take a look under the hood. Starts right up. No check engine lights or anything like that. There are your other apps right there. I would personally like to thank you for checking out the video today and hopefully from this HD video you've been able to verify the quality, condition, options and of course cleanliness of this truck all the way around inside and out. I think for being a 2017, this thing is in fantastic condition. Under the hood we have the 6.7 liter Cummins diesel engine engine base, very clean, runs very smooth. Once again, this truck has been fully safe and inspected by our service shop, has a fresh oil and filter change, all the fluids have been checked and topped off. It is 100% ready to go, shocks are doing a great job holding that hood up. There's the emissions sticker. I would highly recommend this truck from a quality and condition standpoint considering the age of miles on it. I think it's in fantastic condition. To see more pictures of this truck or one of our 550 new and used cars, trucks, SUVs, minivans, rain glows, halftones or quarter-tons, one-tons, you name it, we've got to go to the website right there, summitauto.com. Full pictures and descriptions of every single vehicle all at summitauto.com. If you want to check out more HD videos, you can go to youtube.com. Click the bell notifications, good updates on the videos I do each and every day as well as having access to one of the largest catalogs of vehicle walk-ons on YouTube. In fact, the second you'll see a link to subscribe to my YouTube channel on the upper left. A link to all the Ram 2500 truck videos I've ever done in the upper right. A link to this vehicle on our website on the lower left. And a link to one of our latest YouTube videos on the lower right. Click those, check us out. We're super excited to help you with this Ultra Clean 2017 Ram 2500 Crew Cab Short Box Laramie Sport and Granite Crystal Metallic. Thanks again for checking out the video. Remember to like, subscribe, and share on the YouTube channel. I really appreciate it. Thanks again.


The next item of business is a statement by Maureen Watt on the mental health strategy. The minister will take questions at the end of her statement so there should be no interventions or interruptions. I call on Maureen Watt up to 50 minutes, please minister. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. As the Scottish Government's first dedicated minister for mental health, I have been driven by a simple principle that we must prevent and treat mental health problems with the same commitment, passion and drive as we do physical health problems. I believe that this is a principle shared across this chamber and beyond. That is why it is at the heart of our new strategy. Everyone has mental health. For all of us, our health has both mental and physical aspects, but they are not always thought of in the same way. We want to create a Scotland where stigma related to mental health is eradicated and where prevention and early intervention is central. We want to be a nation where mental health care is person-centred and recognising the life-changing benefits of fast, evidence-based treatment. In the last decade, mental health services have changed dramatically. There has been excellent work from the NHS, local authorities and third sector organisations. Staff in all of these organisations at all levels make life-changing and life-saving interventions every day. However, I believe that we all have a mutual ambition to go further. Today's strategy and its 40 actions set out our starting point. That strategy has been fundamentally shaped by views and feedback from organisations and service users across Scotland. We received almost 600 responses to our engagement paper and we held public events and meetings. The volume and the content of the responses and discussion demonstrated passion and commitment for change. In late 2016, the Health and Sport Committee carried out its inquiry into mental health. Its findings were thoughtful and constructive and gave added impetus to the issues that we were developing. The committee raised the importance of child and adolescent mental health, including rejected referrals, early intervention, treatment and the need for multiple services to work together, including health, education and local authorities. The overarching message to us from the engagement was simple. Be more ambitious and recognise mental health as an essential part of all health and social wellbeing. As this is the first national strategy since the integration of health and social care, we have worked closely with COSLA in developing it and we will continue to work closely with them as we work to implement the strategy nationally and locally. Intrinsic to the strategy and intrinsic to implementing the actions and the vision is a human rights-based approach. A concrete way to do this is the panel approach of participation, accountability, non-discrimination and equality, empowerment and legality. The reality of implementing the actions and the development of future actions must continue to keep human rights at its core. The Scottish mental health partnerships vision is one that I suspect we all share. It is of a Scotland where people can get the right help at the right time, expect recovery and fully enjoy their rights free from discrimination and stigma. I want mental and physical health to have parity of esteem in practice. It is there in law already, but people's lived experience and our data suggest that there is a way to go. Achieving parity will not be easy, but it is vital. We estimate that only one in three people who would benefit from treatment for a mental illness currently receive that treatment.  That is a major health inequality, and I cannot accept it. To achieve parity of esteem over the 10 years of this strategy, we must see and be able to measure the following. Equal access to the most effective and safest care and treatment. Equal efforts to improve the quality of care. Allocation of time, effort and resources on a basis to commensurate with need. Equal status within healthcare education and practice. Equal high aspirations for service users. Equal status in the measurement of health outcomes. Improving mental health services and care is not solely the preserve of the health portfolio or the NHS. To tackle the causes of poor mental health, action is required across Government, including education, housing, justice, environment and the economy. That is also true of agencies and organisations outwith the Scottish Government. There must be work across all public services to harness the widest range of opportunities to improve the population's mental health.  The fairer Scotland action plan sets out how we will help tackle poverty, reduce inequality and build a fairer and more inclusive Scotland. The broader implementation of mental health law must promote a human rights-based approach. We will ensure that this is made clear in statutory guidance. We will also commission a review of current legislation. We will do to see that and, if what, further reforms are necessary, so that the needs of people with learning disabilities and autism are properly taken into account. That is not the only legislation that we propose to consider. We will reform adults with incapacity legislation so that it fully reflects the requirements of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In that reform, we propose a particular emphasis on provision of supported decision making. We will ensure that improving mental health and wellbeing are central in all new public health priorities. We will challenge the NHS to prioritise the physical health of people with mental health problems, removing barriers to people accessing services. I visited Maryhill Health and Care Centre in Glasgow this Tuesday and the mental health information station in Edinburgh this morning and heard first hand about those challenges. We will focus on prevention and early intervention for children, young people and adults to help to prevent the development of mental health problems and to step in promptly where they develop. We have already agreed to fund a managed clinical network for perinatal mental health. That is the first MCN in Scotland for mental health and is a significant step forward in achieving parity. We have made considerable progress in improving access to specialist child and adolescent mental health services, but demand continues to increase. We have listened to concerns about rejected referrals to CAMHS and we will commission an audit of them. Sometimes CAMHS is the right route for young people and at other times an alternative would be better. We will look at the whole system recognising the importance of specialist services but also of early interventions at tier 1 and 2. That could be of particular importance to looked after children. We will complete the roll-out of targeted parenting programmes to ensure availability across Scotland. We will be commissioning the development of a matrix of evidence-based interventions that can improve the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people. We will also develop a new separate 10-year child and adolescent health and wellbeing strategy covering both physical and mental wellbeing. Schools are one of the key places to ensure that the children of Scotland have the care and support that they need. That is why we will soon commission a review of personal and social education, the role of pastoral guidance and counselling services in Scotland. Our aim in this review is simple to ensure that every child has appropriate access to emotional and mental wellbeing support in school. We will facilitate work with Police Scotland to ensure that people who have mental health problems, who are in contact with the police or who are in distress, get the help and support that they need. That will include work through our refreshed justice strategy and through our distress brief intervention programme. We will also be working with the Scottish Prison Service and partners to improve the mental health of prisoners, including young offenders. We aim to create a social security system in Scotland that is based on dignity fairness and respect and supports those with mental health problems.  Utilising our new employability powers, we will work across services to support people to stay in and return to work. That includes being committed to working with employers to support the mental wellbeing of their employees. As I mentioned earlier, the physical wellbeing of people with mental illness is of major concern to me. I am committed to ensuring that services such as screening and smoking cessation are supported to help to improve participation rates for those with mental health problems. That will be the start of tackling 15 to 20 years premature mortality. Other work will be needed, and I believe that I can count on the support of many in taking the right steps and in addressing that significant health inequality. Through our twin programme of investment and reform, we are working to shift the balance of care across health and social care. In the coming year, we project that NHS spending on mental health will exceed £1 billion for the first time. In each year of this Parliament, we are committed to that investment increasing and with mental health receiving an increasing share of front-line NHS investment. None of those improvements to mental health services will be realised without having the right staff in the right place. We will work to give access to dedicated mental health professionals in all A&Es, all GP practices, every police station custody suite and all our prisons. Over the next five years, that will mean an increasing investment to £35 million for 800 additional mental health workers in those key settings. That increased investment through the NHS for this workforce will be in addition to the £150 million already set out for improvement and innovation. That means that I can confirm today that over the next five years, the total Scottish Government direct investment in mental health will be over £300 million, which will support implementation of this strategy. In primary care, we are developing new multidisciplinary models of supporting mental health. That will help to achieve, ask once, get help fast and to better equip people to manage their own health and encourage recovery. Presiding officer, as I hope I have made clear, that strategy is not the end of a process, it is just the beginning. The voices of stakeholders and service users have been key to its development, and I am determined that they will also be key to its implementation. That is why, to help me steer the strategy being taken forward, I will be convening a biannual forum of stakeholders. In that forum, I want to hear their views and get their help for now and in the future. To ensure that we learn from what actions laid out so far have achieved, we will carry out a full review at the halfway point of this strategy. I hope that members across the chamber will be able to see reflected in this strategy the ambitions that they and others have promoted. I believe that this strategy can build on and can be built on and developed in the years to come. I believe that together we can deliver the mental health support, care and services that the people of Scotland deserve. The minister will now take questions on the issues raised in her statement. I can allow around 30 minutes for questions and then we have to move on. Can I remind everyone that there is a lot of business to get through this afternoon, so brevity would be very much appreciated? I would ask those who wish to ask a question to press their buttons now and I call on Miles Priggs. To begin by expressing my concern, I know that it is shared across the chamber that the Scottish Government has only allocated 45 minutes for Parliament to question the Government today on the new mental health strategy. That said, there are a number of areas within the new 10-year strategy that I welcome and which Scottish Conservatives called for within our mental wellbeing policy statement, which we published at the beginning of December. The key message from all stakeholders who will be tasked with the delivery of the strategy over the next decade in communities across our country is that all the words in the world in a Government strategy will not make the difference if they are not backed up with real reforms and resources. The last mental health strategy contained 36 actions, given that no report card on how they were delivered or achieved has ever been compiled, can the minister tell Parliament today how many of those actions from the last mental health strategy were actually achieved? Given that the new mental health strategy aims to transform services and treatments for those with mental health problems over the next decade, can the minister outline to Parliament how that progress will be monitored? Will the minister chair an advisory group to drive the strategy's implementation forward? Will the minister commit today to providing an annual progress report to this Parliament? When I was elected to this chamber, Deputy Presiding Officer, in my maiden speech, I said that mental health was the most pressing thing facing our country. I am sorry to say that today feels like a missed opportunity. I welcome the fact that, in the last part of her speech, the minister said that the strategy is not an end process, that it is just the beginning. I think that that will have to be the case, and I hope that the minister will look at listening to organisations in the coming weeks and months as we hear the concerns around the strategy. Maureen Watt Thank you, Presiding Officer. Miles Biggs will know that the bureau determines the work and programme of the chamber, not the Government. The health and support committee will be able to scrutinise the strategy, which I am sure that it will want to do. I am pleased that Miles Biggs recognises that the many asks in his party's manifesto in last year's election have been met in this strategy. Of course, as I said in my statement, we will be putting in place governance structure in order to see how this strategy is taken forward. In fact, in terms of the last strategy, there were updates on specific actions in the last strategy, published online at various times throughout it. I am happy to give an annual report to Parliament. If that is what Parliament wishes, but as I say, I am sure that the health and support committee will want to scrutinise the strategy as set out further. Monica Lennon I thank the minister for early sight of her statement this afternoon. There are actions in the strategy that are to be welcomed, such as the managed clinical network for perinatal mental health and additional mental health professionals for our A&Es, GP practices, police stations and prisons, and a commitment to young carers that we welcome. The publication of the 10-year mental health strategy was an opportunity for us to be bold and ambitious. That is why I was hopeful that, when the Scottish Government delayed the strategy last year, it would listen to concerns raised by stakeholders and the health and support committee and that the final strategy would contain the transformative action that is required. I am disappointed that the Government is ignoring Scottish Labour's plan for investment in school-based counselling and wrapping around early intervention support in schools, a plan back by Bernardal Scotland just last week. I am disappointed because we know that half of all mental health problems begin before the age of 15. So, although it is welcome that the minister has committed to look at rejected referrals, the scope of that audit remains unclear. We are talking about 17,000 children over the last three years who have been referred to CAMHS have waited for help only to be turned away. Children and young people should have been at the very heart of this 10-year mental health strategy, but I see that we have to await a follow-up strategy on CAMHS. Without a solid commitment to immediate investment in action to support early intervention, how can the minister give assurances that the strategy will adequately improve the wellbeing of our children and young people? I think that, with 40 actions in the strategy, that is indeed transformative. I think that the member will find that most of the asks in her parties manifesto have been met in full or partially. In terms of the audit for rejected CAMHS, that is precisely what Monica Lennon has been calling for. In terms of rejections to CAMHS, referrals to a range of physical services are rejected too as not being the appropriate action. That is why, in the strategy, we are beefing up the services that are available to young people and others at tiers 1 and 2. Precisely, that is why I mentioned the real importance of education and a review of personal and social education and what education and schools can do. We all know that, in terms of curriculum for excellence, all those involved in education are responsible for literacy, numeracy, health and wellbeing, and that includes mental wellbeing. That is why we are undertaking the review to make sure that that is happening. I remind the chamber that the main opposition spokespeople are given some leeway in the answer questioning. I ask for brevity in future questions, please. I have Claire Hawke to be followed by Annie Wells. I refer members to my register of interest as a registered mental health nurse. First, I welcome the strategy and the opportunities for improved care that it offers in the area of mental health. I ask the minister what measures the strategy will put in place to improve equity of access to perinatal mental health services across the country. Maureen Watt I thank Claire Hawke for her question and I recognise her experience in this area. As she said, I have already announced the new managed clinical network for perinatal mental health, and that will bring together health professionals who work in the area of perinatal and mental health. The expert leadership in that area will identify current gaps in perinatal care and pathways and it will develop and implement guidelines and best practice in ensuring improved standards and make sure that everyone gets the same high level of care regardless of where they live. In terms of recruitment, that is under way for a lead clinician. They will be assisted by additional dedicated maternity nursing and infant mental health experts and managed support and should become operational later this year. However, the enthusiasm with which the announcement of the managed clinical network received is giving me great hope in this area. Annie Wells The Scottish Government set its own target that 90 per cent of adults and children, referred by a GP for treatment for mental health issues, should begin treatment within 18 weeks. In December last year, NHS stats have yielded 22.5 per cent, one in five, were not seen within this time frame. In fact, the target has never been met since it was set by the Scottish Government in December 2014, and between October and December last year, only two health boards were able to meet the 90 per cent figure. In her statement, the minister talks about getting the right help at the right time and that ask ones get help fast approach. We welcome this, but ask what specific action the Scottish Government will take to make sure that those in need of mental health treatment are not subject to excessive waiting times. I thank Annie Wells for her question. Scotland was the first country to introduce waiting times for mental health services. I agree with her, and I have said in this chamber many times that I am not content with too many health boards not meeting their targets. Although we are seeing some areas excellent progress in this, 82.5 per cent of people receive help within the 18 weeks. The median average waiting time across Scotland was nine weeks. As the member knows, improvement teams have engaged with 4th valley, Lothian Ayrshire and Arran Borders, and in terms of 4th valley, for example, we have seen a 40 per cent increase in that health board meeting their waiting times. Of course, there is so much more to do, and that is why we are putting an emphasis on putting more workers into tiers 1 and 2, so that people can have help where they might not necessarily need to be referred to CAMHS or adult psychological therapies and reduce the number of rejected referrals. I think that, in the strategy, she will see from our summary of actions that we intend to take steps in that area. I would like to ask the minister what provision will be made to ensure that young people who have exhibited suicidal tendencies or have a history of suicide attempts are referred immediately for specialist treatment with no delay in the future. Presiding Officer, every suicide is a tragedy. Where a young person needs to be seen by a clinician urgently, that should happen. It does happen on a daily basis. We are investing in access to CAMHS, and we will be engaging with stakeholders later this year to publish a new suicide prevention action plan by early 2018, which will dovetail very much with the mental health strategy. However, it is unacceptable that people are not being seen as they require. I know that the minister thanked COSLA in her statement. The reality is that this was meant to be a joint strategy between COSLA and the Scottish Government. For obvious reasons, because the implementation of the strategy will require work from the Scottish Government, from councils and from the IJBs. That is why I am sure that she is disappointed by Councillor Peter Johnson's note that was circulated to all councils last night, saying that they were unable to endorse the mental health strategy outlined by the Government today. I should iterate that Councillor Johnson is the health and wellbeing spokesperson for COSLA, and he is also the SNP group leader in West Lothian. That is a disappointing start for the statement. Shona Robison says that we missed the welcome. She says quite clearly that this was meant to be a joint endorsement. Can the minister tell us what action she will do to alleviate the crisis that we have with COSLA and how we can stop cuts to mental health budgets from IJBs? Maureen Watt, we can sure rely on Anna Sarwar's negativity. We have worked, as I said in my statement, very closely with COSLA in the development of the strategy. That joint working has been going on for work for months. Peter Johnson welcomed the strategy. We have put further ambitions in the strategy and, of course, we will be working with COSLA and the integrated joint boards post their elections in making sure that all this works. Jenny Gilruth, followed by Alison Johnstone. To ask the Scottish Government how the new mental health strategy will support the development of positive mental health and wellbeing in schools and in so doing resilience in young people. I thank Jenny Gilruth for her question and recognise her experience in schools in this field. As I have said, we will undertake a review of PSE in schools and make sure that all those involved with school children have the necessary qualifications and support structures to help children in schools. Clearly, identification of upcoming problems with young children is best identified in schools along with parents. It is important that we give parents the tools to recognise their children who might be experiencing distress and know precisely where to go to, which might well be through their GP. However, there is a great opportunity in schools to build resilience among our young people to be able to deal with whatever life throws at them. What provisions are in the strategy to tackle rising levels of self-harm among children and young people in Scotland? How will we make sure that young people presenting with self-harm are never met with stigmatising response? Morrin Wood Self-harm is clearly an area that is a demonstration of mental distress. I visited services in Perth, where in schools at lunchtime there is group work with children who have been presenting with self-harm. Again, that is an area where schools can help and where, in fact, peer support can be of real benefit to help children who are demonstrating self-harm. Fulton MacGregor To be followed by Mike Rumbles One of the concerns that we have discussed previously in this chamber is that children or young people with mental health problems are admitted to known specialist wards, not least the issues that were raised by the mental welfare commission last year. Could the minister outline how she intends to address that through the strategy? Can I also advise the chamber again that I am the PLO for the health secretary? With a sore throat, I can tell. Morrin Wood I can tell Fulton MacGregor that we have seen improvements as reported by the mental welfare commission in 2016, with fewer incidents of young people being admitted to non-specialist wards, 135 admissions involving 118 young people in 2015-16. In the previous year, it was 207 admissions involving 175 young people. In the mental welfare commission's report, there were six recommendations, and many of them were for NHS boards. Of course, NHS boards should address the issues that were raised. One of the recommendations was for the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and we in the Scottish Government are working with their representative and CAMHS-lead clinicians on that. That was to review standards to help adult mental health wards demonstrate their ability to provide safe and appropriate care for under-18s who require admission, and that is action 19 in our strategy. We are also taking actions on scoping highly specialist mental health in patient services for young people to look at forensic calms. Mike Rumbles, followed by Mary Todd. I thank the minister for advance sight of her statement. Despite what the minister has said, there is still no commitment to the scale of resources that are required to deliver the desperately needed step change in services. The Government's statement is carefully worded. The minister said that we will work to give access to dedicated mental health professionals in all AEs, GP practices, every police custody suite and to our prisons. That is not the same as providing dedicated trained professionals in every one of those locations. The Liberal Democrats proposed this in our budget negotiations. The Government is pretending to do it. Minister, is it not more honest to make this difference clear? Maureen Watt. I say to Mike Rumbles that 800 extra mental health workers are 800 real people who will be available to be accessed through those people. We are not in a position as the Liberal Democrats seemed to infer when they did start budget negotiations that there is a pot of money and that we can have people sitting around doing nothing. In fact, what we are doing is making sure that all those areas—AEs, police custody suites—have access to a mental health support worker as quickly as possible. I welcome today's statement. The strategy sets out the opportunities to pilot improved arrangements for dual diagnosis for people with problems, substance use and mental health issues. Can the minister outline how those pilots will be identified and if lessons from them will be implemented nationally? Maureen Watt. I think that we all know that mental health problems and substance misuse are commonly co-occurring and that there are opportunities to optimise how specialist services can work together. Those will be explored by discussion with integrated authorities and NHS boards, identifying examples and opportunities that can be used to inform national guidance and good practice. I would point out that our pilot work on distress brief interventions and transforming primary care also provide opportunities to improve the service response to people with mental health and substance misuse. The evaluation of those will also provide lessons about outcomes that will inform future national models. We also know that services having co-borbidity policies is a recognised protective factor reducing suicide. Healthcare Improvement Scotland is working with NHS boards to implement a suicide prevention framework that allows teams to consider if they have co-borbidity policies and if not to take action to create them. Brian Whittle is followed by Christina McKelvie. There is a mountain of expert evidence highlighting the importance of inclusivity and physical activity as major tools in the treatment and prevention of poor mental health. If you visit the combat stress stand in the member's lobby, they will tell you how they are using activity to tackle mental health issues. The minister's statement suggests that she will challenge the NHS to prioritise the physical health of people with mental health problems. However, we know that this Government has withdrawn funding from 1 April for Jog Scotland, and Sam H is helping to pick up the Government tab. It is so important that it believes that being active is to the mental health agenda. Given that evidence, how can the Government possibly claim that the strategy tackles preventable poor mental health when its actions do exactly the opposite of expert opinion? Maureen Watt. In terms of Jog Scotland, the Minister for Public Health and Sports Scotland is working together to see the way forward for Jog Scotland. The member makes a very valid point, and I said that in my statement, that it is really important that people with mental health problems have good physical health. That is precisely what I said in terms of the actions in relation to that. Those with mental health problems often have poor physical health, and it is important that they get the screening and the tools to improve their physical health. That is precisely what many of the organisations working in that space will signpost people to, so that they have a clear pathway going forward to manage their mental health by improving their physical health, too. I, too, have visited the combat stress stall today, and, of course, the Government gives 200,000 per year to Combat Stress Scotland community outreach service, which aims to provide a better response to the mental health needs of veterans, their families and carers. I think that most people in Scotland recognise this Government's commitment to veterans. The last of the questions in the statement is from Christina McKelvie. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Given that the UK Government has been heavily criticised for grave and systematic breaches of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, can the minister tell us if steps will be taken to ensure that the review of adults within capacity legislation complies fully with the UN convention on the rights of persons with disabilities? Maureen Watt. As I said in my statement, we intend to take forward our review of legislation in that field to make sure that it is compatible with the UN convention on the rights of people with disabilities. That is to address the compatibility. The work follows on from the conclusion of the consultation on the Scottish Law Commission's report on adults within capacity. We will look at new models of graded guardianship, for example, with a strong focus on supported decision making, and amending, if necessary, powers of attorney to help individuals to make decisions for themselves so that there is clarity in advance on perhaps the deprivation of liberty and what exactly they would prefer to happen if they were detained. That ends the questioning on the mental health strategy