"Removing People with Intellectual Disabilities from the Streets" – Social Development Officer

General News of Sunday, June 16, 2019

Source: Graphic.com.gh

2019-06-16

Mr. Christopher Komla, Senior Social Development Officer in the Department of Social Welfare, called for close collaboration among stakeholders to eliminate people with mental disorders from the street.

According to him, it was necessary for stakeholders such as psychiatric hospitals, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the police to cooperate closely with the department in order to fulfill its mandate effectively.

Mr. Komla appealed in an interview with The Mirror in Accra.

The 2012 Mental Health Act (Law 846) provides for the creation of a modern community-based mental health system and the protection of the rights of people with mental disorders.

But in the current state of things, most people with mental disorders do not receive the proper care they are supposed to receive.

"Because of the nature of our work, we need the support of the public and all other stakeholders to rid the street of people with mental illness and manage the situation," he said.

Social protection operation

Explaining how the Department of Social Welfare badisted patients with mental disorders, Mr. Komla said that they were generally treated with therapies, after which they were sent home after they had completely recovered.

"By helping to reintegrate them into society, we usually have to prepare them by offering vocational training to those who do not have jobs, so that they can acquire certain skills to be able to fend for themselves when they go home.

"I will be advising the general public and families who have people to seek knowledge about mental health care so that they can take care of it, because it is not easy. I think the family or society is neglecting these people because they are not familiar with mental health care, "he said.

He also called on families not to neglect people with mental health problems so as not to become a burden on society.

As part of the Ministry's "Take It From the Streets" program, he said he believed many people with mental health problems would be eliminated from the street.

"I think that over time, social protection will be able to rid most patients of the street, if not all," he said.