During this Mental Health Awareness Month, We are making great strides driving towards the global theme of WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY i.e ”Move for mental health, lets invest. Community Mental Health, Leaving no one behind”
Mental Health Uganda (MHU) has cracked yet another lifesaving partnership with Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) to effect the above cause by setting up 2 Mental Health drop in centers i.e KISWA and komamboga Health Center III in Nakawa and Kawempe Divisions respectively. This came shortly after mapping out and identifying different gaps in the existing structures. These two centers will be operating from 9am – 4pm every Monday through Friday.
MHU will through these centers conduct monthly clinic days, mental health camps, support women to access drug refills, sexual reproductive health services, conduct family re-unions, offer psycho-social support i.e mainly counselling, make necessary referrals, register and report cases of human rights violations and abuse.
Some of the street hide outs where females with mental health challenges experience human rights violations like pelting, rape and others as the offenders go unpunished instigating more possibilities of future infringes.
These transit/drop-in Centers are meant to increase access to community mental health services, information and products for persons with MH challenges and also come into contact with homeless women to enhance reduced stigma and elevate self-esteem among the homeless women on the streets.
These centers will be mandated to provide essential services such as first line treatment, sanitary pads, clothing, counseling, document cases of abuse and link them to the MHU legal aid desk, provide vocational trainings, Income Generating Activities to resettled women and to grant them access to self help groups and peer support counselling monitored and supported by Village Health Teams. These will as well increase the knowledge about the needs, rights and protection for women with psychosocial challenges.
Through this partnership, KCCA will avail space for a temporary shelter from where females living on the streets with mental illnesses and their children will access services.
Through visits to assess the feasibility of these two centers, the mental health departments warmly welcomed our team and were quick to raise some needs that they hope MHU will address during the 2 years of operating the drop in centers and these among others included
CONTINOUS FOLLOW UPS; There was a request for MHU to make continuous follow ups to clients to avoid regression and relapses. This was attributed to the shortage of enough resources to carry this on. During the COVID-19 Lockdown itself, the clinics witnessed a drastic decrease in the number of clients. They thus suggested a phone call follow up system to be taken on.
COMMUNITY AWARENESS; Absurd but true, our team was told that most departments are availed with facilities to make community awareness about different illnesses like HIV, TB etc but Metal Health is never catered for which led to increased stigmatization and discrimination in communities.
LIMITED DRUGS; There is limited drug supply to these health centers which leaves clients at the verge of relapses with limited access to medical care of which most of the unavailable drugs are not affordable for them.
IEC MATERIALS; When it comes to Mental Health, there are no visuals at these health centers illustrating mental illnesses and how people can seek for help at different levels.
READING MATERIALS ON CASE MANAGEMENT.
MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS SESSIONS FOR OTHER HEALTH CENTER STAFF; The mental health department cried out over continued stigmatization of the women who walk in. Most are not treated with the due specialty and during such delays at laboratories and other facilities, the clients end up becoming violent. They thus begged for trainings to make the facilities more inclusive, sweeping out the current stigmatisation and discrimination.
Because of living in such poor and unhygienic conditions, when these females with mental health challenges visit health centers to seek care, they are isolated and disriminated on grounds that they smell.
EMPHASIZE FAMILY THERAPY; This according to the Mental Health departments entails peer to peer home support, basic counseling provided by family members, on-phone counseling prompted by next of kins to the persons with mental health challenges.
The main objective, is to bring mental health services closer to people in these Kampala City Suburbs