Story from Insanity to Normalcy
There will be huddles in life which one struggles to overcome alone. This becomes extreme in the case of people with psycho social needs. Family support is rather more important for these people equal to individual counseling.
Hope Shelter for Women with Psycho Social Needs, run by HOPE PUBLIC CHARITABLE TRUST is a residential rehabilitation center which is extremely for women with psycho social challenges. Here the women are rescued from streets and given shelter under the scheme of GREATER CHENNAI CORPORATION. In the shelter home these women are given medication, counseling, vocational activities, etc. in order to bring them to better condition and train them to live independently.
Once they come back to a better state, a team will enquire about the address recalled by the residents and if the proper address is found the Trust arrange vehicle and fund to reintegrate that resident with their family. This is not a short process, a resident might have come from their home years ago most probably, it is hard to remember the correct location, house number, etc. Therefore, it normally takes more than one month to spot an address.
A mass family Reintegration happened on 17th and 18th April 2021. Five of the residents who completed treatment at Institute of Mental Health and after the counseling, vocational training, etc. were reintegrated with the family around Chennai. The journey to find their homes started at 9 am and ended up in 2.00 am. Residents were accompanied by three staff including the driver. The two young ladies, Ms. Nandhini (Coordinator cum Counselor) and Ms. Tamilselvi (Security Guard, Day cum Care Taker) took care of the residents during the entire process. It was a very tough time for the staff because sometimes it was very difficult to spot the addresses told by the residents.
Another challenge faced was denial of the family members. Even though the truth is revealed that these residents overcame their pathetic life situation, the family members are not ready to accept it. Some family who are financially backward denies accepting them because of their poverty; some family considers these people as a taboo and burden to their status in the society. Anyhow, every family was given proper family counseling and awareness within the short time. From this it is clearly understood that rather than giving counseling to the patients, the foremost counseling should be prioritized to the family members.
Another mass integration program was held on another day, in which the staff Ms. Nandhini and Ms. Ashitha took two residents to Kanchipuram and Nattrampalli (Near Hosur) to reunite them with the family. The journey was challenging because one of the resident hardly remembers the proper area. Anyhow the residents were safely reintegrated with their family, even though there were lots of challenges during the journey. On the second day the staff reached back home at 3 am after the reintegration.
