Members of the Manobandhu Foundation, which focusses on rescuing and reuniting mentally ill wandering persons from streets, said they have been successful in rescuing 120 such persons across the State in the last two years.
Addressing the media in Vijayawada on January 29 (Monday), noted psychiatrist Indla Ramasubba Reddy, also one of the Trustees of the Foundation, said 75 of the rescued persons were reunited with their families across the country, thanks to the cooperation of the Shraddha Rehabilitation Foundation, a shelter home run by Ramon Magsaysay Award winner and psychiatrist Bharat Vatwani in Maharashtra. Dr. Ramasubba Reddy said the rescued persons were found wandering in many places across the State.
“This number could have been more if we had better infrastructure in the State. Until a month back, we only had the Government Mentalcare Hospital in Visakhapatnam. We used to find it difficult to take mentally ill persons all the way to Visakhapatnam. Last month, another such facility was opened in Kadapa. The presence of one more hospital is definitely the much-needed impetus, but more needs to be done by the government,” Dr. Ramasubba Reddy said.
Foundation’s Managing Trustee B. Ramakrishna Raju said YSRCP leader Y.V. Subba Reddy, in his capacity as the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) chairman, had assured them last year that a building, which used to a shelter for leprosy patients in Tirupati earlier, would be converted into a 100-bed rehabilitation centre to shelter recovering mentally ill persons. “We are hoping that the centre comes up soon,” he said.
The members said more funds have to be set aside for constitution of mental healthcare review boards at district level, as mandated by the Mental Healthcare Act of 2017.
Ramon Magsaysay awardee and renowned social activist Sandeep Pandey, who was also present at the meeting, requested the government to make policy changes so that such individuals can be taken care of properly. He stressed that rehabilitation shelters are very important and more should be set up in the State.
Later, the Foundation members, along with Mr. Sandeep Pandey, released the annual report.
