The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Giving voice to people affected by mental illness

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jul 30, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Giving voice to people affected by mental illness

Staff Reporter

CHENNAI: The second national-level workshop on homelessness and mental health organised by The Banyan was an attempt to give primacy to the voice of people who have been affected by mental illness either as clients or as caregivers.

One of the key sessions held as part of the workshop was on `Life with dignity for all - A dream or a realistic vision?' — a session that was designed to debate human rights issues pertaining to persons with mental illness.

Madras High Court judge Prabha Sridevan said the choices available to the mentally ill are minimal.

She said that there is a need to increase awareness levels among the clients and the caregivers.

She also emphasised that the number of divorces that state mental illness as a cause should be studied and stressed the need for a legal framework to monitor systems of implementation to safeguard the rights of the affected person.

R. Nataraj, SDGP - State Human Rights Commission, called on all police personnel to actively participate in the community mental health programme.

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