Vaishnavi My response to the narratives below is mixed ; it is sad and shameful that families are being selfish and cruel. We need to work for a legislation imposing penalty like the one they have for Sr.Citizens. Let me see if this can be done at State level in which case , we can initiate at State Level; even as amendments to existing Acts. In a way I am also happy that these homeless have some Option unlike the PMI orphans left to wither away , degenerate into a bundle of bones , left to die in their own homes because there is no one to care for? Do you recall the newspaper clippings of such helpless"Homeless" souls? *It is time we redefine Homeless from one of physical space to one of Support and care space. One can become homeless in one's own house if he/ she is orphaned; shunned by neighbors etc. So your statistics on HPMI is far more than what you have quoted. Wandering homeless and Residential homeless are two different types under HPMI. The latter feeds into the former. * Hence , it is time that Family Support groups work towards Home Care Programs like in the West and Self-Care training in Life Skills that can prevent Wandering HPMIs . It will be nice if AIFMI initiates these activities on a national forum. MH Professionals must reinvent Psychosocial Education for families to accomodate Advocacy packages. best wishes nirmala
On Tue, Jul 31, 2012 at 2:44 PM, Vaishnavi Jayakumar < [email protected]> wrote: > *New Delhi* : In the dimly-lit lobby of a shelter for the mentally-ill > homeless, she sits reading the tattered printout of an e-mail from her > US-based brother. The 55-year-old scans every word – her brother has > sternly refused to accept her following her recovery from mental illness. > > It’s a body blow but she refuses to give up. After a long and hard battle > against mental illness at Sudinalaya, a shelter for such homeless women in > north Delhi, the doughty woman has drawn on her inner resilience to carry > on living. She misses her family, fights the rejection, but is trying to > come to terms with the fact that the shelter home is perhaps her refuge – > for the foreseeable future. > > “My family has refused to accept me even after recovery. I have nowhere to > go, so now I have to accept this shelter home as my home,” the former > schoolteacher, who is not being identified for fear of further taint, said. > > “These women here are my family. I cook here and talk to friends,” the > economics graduate from Nagpur, who was found on the streets last August > and was treated at the the Delhi government’s Institute of Human Behaviour > and Allied Sciences (IHBAS), said in a determined voice. > > Tragically, she’s not the only one. > > According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), there are over > 70 million people with some form of mental illness in the country and about > a quarter of them are homeless. Experts say familial apathy and an > attitudinal shift in society are pushing millions of recovered mentally-ill > people into homelessness. > > “A shelter home cannot replace the emotional support provided by a > family,” said Sudinalaya director Sreerupa Mitra. > > “I will file a petition in the high court asking whether and how much > penalty can be imposed on families who abandon people in our society, put > them in utmost misery and render them homeless,” Mitra told IANS. > > According to Nimesh Desai, director of IHBAS, a major concern is > rehabilitating those who have recovered. > > “Generally, the outlook towards people with mental illness has improved. > But homelessness of millions of mentally-ill is a major concern because of > the changing face of society,” Desai said. > > “There have been cases where the family members corner property worth > crores and throw the individual into a mental asylum,” he added. > > “It is frustrating to see such active deprivation of economic and social > rights even in well-to-do families. Are the families falling short of > physical space in their apartments or do they lack emotional space?” Desai > wondered. > > Interestingly, families declining to accept a loved one with a history of > mental illness have been more evident in “urban and economically well-off > families”, said experts. > > While “legal persuasion” could be applied on families to support a > patient, more often than not, patients are left with no option but to > struggle in custodial asylum or languish on streets – both of which are > worse after recovery. > > Back at Sudinalaya, lunch is over and the utensils have been washed and > put away. The now recovered woman, hoping to get back to a teaching job, > heads for the carom board for a game she excelled at when in college. > > “If no one comes for me, I will stay here and teach the other women this > game,” she says. > > > http://www.firstpost.com/india/a-quarter-of-indias-mentally-ill-homeless-398304.html > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "Mental Health Advocacy (Reform) 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/MhaReformIndia?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 > -- nirmala srinivasan(ashoka fellow) director, ACMI bangalore -india +91 9886031659 -- 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
