Coimbatore gets first day care centre for mentally-ill with 48 beds

[The Desi DISpatch]

9-Jun-2016

Pratiksha Ramkumar

Coimbatore: The city is likely to get its first day care centre exclusively for people suffering from severe mental illness. 

An initiative of city-based Kongunadu Mananala Arakkattalai (KMA) and Chennai-based Schizophrenia Research Foundation (SCARF), the centre will house people for a little more than six hours a day. The beneficiaries or members of the centre will also to learn a few skills like jewellery making, painting and plate making which could also help them get jobs. 

The 48-bed centre will start taking in members from Monday. It will function out of a building near Vadavalli. "It will cater to 40 people," said the president of KMA, Dr Pradeep Damodaran, adding SCARF has agreed to sponsor the day care centre. The centre will function from 9.30am to 5pm.

Doctors say the day care centre will be hugely beneficial for both the patients and their family members. "For the beneficiaries, learning a new skill and getting a small remuneration for good work will raise their self-esteem and motivation levels. In the long-run, if we find them being able to focus and adapt well, we might even be able to find them jobs outside," said Dr Damodaran. "It will help their families too, because usually one person has to be at home full time to take care of the patient," he added. 

The centre will offer all services free of cost. "The beneficiaries only need to bring their lunch," Damodaran said. The centre will have around eight staff members including psychologists, counsellors, social workers and skill trainers. "It aims to improve the inmates' language, comprehension, communication and social interacting skills," he added.

The association also plans to establish a special employment exchange. "We will register names of the people who need employment and identify what they are capable of doing. We will approach industries, mills, factories, hotels and supermarkets to request them to allot a small percentage of their work force to such people," Damodaran said. 

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