This government facility in Bengaluru has treated and rehabilitated over 60 homeless, mentally-ill persons in two months

NGO initiative at C.V. Raman Hospital provides mental health care, rehabilitation, and family reunification for homeless individuals.

Recently, a 65-year-old woman was found wandering in Frazer Town by social workers from a non-governmental organisation (NGO) during their field work.  The homeless woman, who exhibited signs of mentally duress, was admitted at the Emergency Care and Recovery Centre (ECRC) at the State-run Sir C.V. Raman General Hospital. 

The woman was not just treated and counselled at the Centre for over a month, but also provided rehabilitation and reunited with her family under Manovruksha, a mental health care initiative for homeless, mentally-ill persons.

She is one of the over 60 persons who have undergone treatment and rehabilitation at the hospital in the last two months. Most of them have been reunited with their families. The State Health Department, in association with Aaladamara Foundation, a city-based NGO dedicated to providing holistic mental healthcare to homeless individuals with severe mental illness, launched the initiative in C.V. Raman Hospital in October this year.

Hospital Medical Superintendent Rajesh K.S. said a 22-bed mental health ward has been set up in the hospital. “While we are providing medicines, food and other required consumables for the patients admitted here, the Aaladamara Foundation has deployed manpower, including a psychiatrist and three nurses apart from psychiatric social workers and healthcare workers,” the doctor said.

“Besides, the Foundation is also providing outreach services wherein social workers go and recover/rescue persons from public places/streets. It is also supporting their rehabilitation and providing them skills to integrate into the society upon recovery,” Dr. Rajesh said.  

Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said this public-private partnership is the first of its kind in Karnataka and many more such centres will be started to respond to the needs of the vulnerable population.

“The idea is to provide comprehensive psychiatric care and holistic recovery services in addition to social care. This initiative is expected to set the standard for future collaborations between the government and other like-minded NGOs in Karnataka,” the Minister told The Hindu.