---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Vandana Gopikumar <[email protected]> Date: Fri, Feb 11, 2011 at 9:07 PM Subject: Re: can anyone verify this ?
I did see this posted on Facebook and on a few other sites. A couple of my colleagues from BALM, Banyan and I have had the opportunity to work with MOC over the past few months. And I must say that the experience has been most rewarding . The zeal, enthusiasm and compassion are rare to come by. >From a Mental Health perspective, what we set out to do was to work with them to get in structures, processes and systems into their approach which depended heavily on love, empathy and compassion. So using The Banyan and other models that promote best practices, we tried to integrate some management and clinical processes into what already existed. Now that brings us to what did/ does exist : 1. The centers that we visited had open spaces , beds, blankets, pillows, toilets, good medical care when a person was ill, a system of outings for recreation, a vocational training plan , a rehabilitation ( inclusive of discharge plan ) with appropriate follow up mechanisms. 2. They had amazing manpower, both maasis ( trained on the job ) , aspirants ( those who intern before opting to join the MOC) and the sisters themselves. The sisters worked from 4.40 am to 9.30 pm and engage in everything from cleaning to caring , counselling to rehabilitation. There is a strong bond between the residents and the care givers ; amazing amount of visible love. Every time that we were there , there were hugs, occasional pinching of the cheeks and all other signs that connote proximity and safety. The residents felt secure at MOC. 3. The Gaps : There is only one psychiatrist who is perhaps overburdened , but trying to do his best. I have not interacted with him, just said hello once. There could be lacunae in the medical system / approach which they wish to revamp and that's where our working together began. They could do with some more trained staff, which has now been sorted , thanks to the efforts of CRS. SRUTI ( headed by Shampa Sengupta ) are now positioned within the MOC for the past two months and are supervising some of these changes , so the quality of care can be standardised. 4. About the chaining : One person was chained when we visited who was pregnant, unwell and very very agitated; trying to harm herself and her baby . They knew no other way than this to restrain her and ensure she was safe. I guess they thought strapping her to a bed or placing her in isolation was inhumane ; this not because they were cruel , but because they knew no better. When placed in that situation , I was wondering what else we could do to ensure dignity and safety at the same time. Once that information is shared, they will be the first to initiate change. 5. Their admission process : Unlike The Banyan, they do not proactively reach out to homeless people with MH issues; most come to them. They try to heal them in all ways known to them and find them jobs, find families etc. And their follow through is also great. So in a sense , they remain ' mom's home' for many of the residents . Are they perfect ? Most certainly not in processes. But I will not for a moment doubt their intent. The Banyan is not perfect either , nor are many of the other institutions the world over. Mental Health is a complex issue , with many grey spaces. One has to take time, understand the issue and then come up with varied solutions . We have been through some very difficult moments in our 18 years of work ourselves; several dilemmas - when are they ill enough for us to rescue , reach out, ( the longer they are on the streets , the worse they end up- sometimes pregnant, sometimes with maggots and broken limbs, sometimes dead) the same mother and child crisis, pregnant and abused women , agitated etc. etc. Soumithra and I were chatting today and wondering if we could come up with workable models/ solutions with many others copied here , that we can then share with others when they are in doubt and need help, taking for granted that humanity is the core of all interventions. I'm confident that MOC is soon going to set an example for many other institutions , looking at their passion and energy; in fact every time I'm there I come back inspired. I'm not against protests, bringing in the press, being tough on people etc ; after all we did that with our own institute in Chennai after working there for 4 long years and incurred the wrath of all and sundry ; but only after we tried all other means of bringing abut change and realised that some barbaric practices were simply not changing- an overhaul of sorts was the need of the hour. The best way really,though, is to be proactive and change the system from within; of course never ever turning a blind eye to any of the atrocities or human rights violations that we wouldn't like to be subjected to ourselves. After a lot of immersion in these areas through The Banyan experience ,as well as that of other NGOS , activists, community level workers, survivors, users, caregivers, managers and my own travels to different hospitals and PHCs, Govt hospitals, homes etc , I have begun to believe that we need to sit down and support those who wish to make a difference ; there are very few people who wish to extend themselves anyway, and our country has huge needs. On the note circulated, I was particularly upset to read about one Sr. Benedicta who I saw in action when I was at MOC; She is so into her work and the residents' life; I was anguished reading some bits about her. I felt sad and disheartened. Thankfully, they do not access Internet , so may nor have read this. I , perhaps am more hurt than she could / would be ; they don't seem to have the time or inclination for anything besides work. But I still have expectations from people and situations. Finally, if any of you wishes to visit MOC, please feel free to . I think they have an open door policy. I'm not their rep, so I don;t know how it works, but Shampa/ Rama from CRS , copied here should be able to help you on that. I have only spoken my heart based on a two month old relationship ; the best way to form an opinion is to yourself spend time. Nobody from MOC will spend time with you or engage in niceties, but hang out there and I think the spirit is infectious and will help us find our own truth. vandana -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Mental Health Advocacy (News 'N Views) India" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/MhaNewsViewsIndia?hl=en ------------- Affiliated Groups : MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCACY INDIA [email protected] Discussions on mental health law / policy / plan monitoring / human rights etc [email protected] India-specific news and views related to mental health [email protected] Information and support to carers of people with mental health issues [email protected] Mutual support and sharing of experiential knowledge, skills and social learning amongst peers
