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The Mensah Mental Health Rehabilitation Project (MEMHREP) has called for increased collaboration to address the issue of mental health in the country.
“It’s not really good economically wise to leave them on the streets,” MEMHREP leader Adu Gyamfi said, adding that “if we help these people recover, what’s going to happen is that most of them went to Universities, they can come back work and pay taxes to help the society.”
Addressing Okyerekrom residents at Ejisu in the Ashanti Region on issues of mental health, Mr. Gyamfi said that even though mental health patients are on the streets, they are just like any other patient in the hospital, and thus they require a lot more attention to aid in their recovery and rehabilitation process.
He stated that some mental health patients have been recovered and taken off the streets for care and rehabilitation by the organization while others are being trained to gain employable skills in fields such as agriculture and sewing, among others.
“We cannot just leave them on the streets for them to drink water from the gutters, [and] to eat from dumping sites. It’s not right,” he said.
Mr. Adu Gyamfi also urged the public, particularly the youth, to avoid using hard drugs and other harmful substances in order to maintain their sanity.
He stated that, while they have been traveling from one location to another educating people, particularly schoolchildren, on the importance of preventing mental illness, the support of philanthropists will make the fight a little easier to win.
Linda Boateng, a mental health patient, stated that she has been battling the illness for several years, but with the help of MEMHREP, she is able to reason properly and carry out her normal activities.
She stated that if the organization is adequately funded, many more people will be taken off the streets.
Linda also asked the government to assist MEMHREP in order for them to continue purchasing their medication.
Akosua Tawiah, the mother of a 10-year-old mental health patient, expressed concern about the high cost of the medicine and urged the government and philanthropists to assist them.
