Date:12/04/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/04/12/stories/2006041225540400.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

`60 p.c. of those rescued from streets are mentally ill'

Special Correspondent

Manasa community project will care for the mentally ill who are homeless

The project will comprise a care centre, hospital and play areas
It will offer transit care and special education to the young

A helpline will be launched

Bangalore: At the shelter for beggars and the homeless run by the Government on the outskirts of the city, 60 per cent of those rescued from the streets have been found to be mentally ill, H. Sudarshan, Commissioner for Vigilance (Healthcare) of the Lokayukta has said.

No psychiatric care

"There are so-called beggars' homes in Bangalore and Mysore, where people are detained under the Prevention of Beggary Act. But the mentally ill among them do not get psychiatric treatment and counselling they badly need,'' he said.

Mr. Sudarshan donated cash received as an award and collected money from friends overseas to help the poor.

In Mysore

"The Manasa project, which will now be implemented in Mysore, and later in Bangalore, will care for the mentally ill who have no place to go other than the streets. They need much more than food, clothing and shelter. Even hospitals cannot keep them beyond a few days at a time. Without proper psychiatric care, they can never fend for themselves,'' he said.

The first Manasa community project will comprise a care centre, hospital and play areas. It will offer transit care and special education to the young. A helpline will also be launched.

Mental health care will be provided in coordination with nearby primary health centres and doctors who volunteer to offer help.

Positive change needed

"We want to bring out a positive change in the Government's policy towards the mentally ill who are also homeless,'' Mr. Sudarshan said.

Manasa will receive help from social activist and author Usha Shetty. She will donate for the cause proceeds from sale of her book on caring for animals, "Le'mme Live My Life."

Fund-raising

The organisation, "For The Cause," will arrange publishing of books, and organise book festivals, art shows, musical events and sale of handmade and herbal products to raise funds, Ms. Shetty said.

"We are trying to make a beginning. There is need for more work among orphaned and homeless children who are just kept in shelters without any effort to integrate them with society once they are grown up,'' Mr. Sudarshan said. The homeless deserved a better deal from the more privileged, he said.