The deaths of two of his beloved singers due to their addiction of drugs is what drove an adult Shirvington Hannays to become a clinical supervisor, addiction counsellor and TeleHealth mental health professional, but he took this route also when he was at the lowest point in his life and was on the verge of ending it.
“It was because of Whitney Houston and Amy Winehouse. I loved those two women so dearly; I think they were so talented… I was very perplexed and to the verge of being depressed that these two women, who to the world had all the resources, how they couldn’t get over this thing, manage this thing, survive whatever it was in terms of substances,” the Canada-based Guyanese related during an interview on a recent visit to Guyana.
Now 53, Hannays, who left Guyana about 30 years ago, is no stranger to the stage himself. Before he left Guyana, he was a well-known stage actor, appearing in plays at the Theatre Guild and the National Cultural Centre.
