By Roy Sanford, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
THE COMMITTEE for the Upliftment of the Mentally Ill (CUMI) is now devising an ambitious programme, which is aimed at creating job opportunities for rehabilitated street people, who have recovered sufficiently enough to join the work force.
"A lot of people think that after madness their life is finished," said Joy Crooks, the nurse administrator at the Montego Bay-based CUMI. "What we want to do through this program is help our patients realise that there is life after madness, so to speak."
Nurse Crooks said prospective employers need not fear employing these former street people as according to her, those who are being considered for the programme are meticulously prepared, evaluated and found suitable to function independently outside of a controlled environmental.
"The process of preparing them for the workplace depends on their mental state, how badly they were affected and how well they have recovered," said Nurse Crooks, who has been with CUMI since its inception in 1991.
"First we try to know how badly the mental illness has deteriorated them from normal life and then evaluate how well they have recovered and are able to function normally."
SELF-MAINTENANCE
As a part of the process to get them ready for the world of work, Nurse Crooks said the process includes allowing patients to accept, understand and managing their illness followed by teaching them self-maintenance.
"We teach them all the things they need to know about their general well-being," Nurse Crooks noted. "So we teach them from simple things like grooming, to being responsible for their own clothes and to taking care of their environment."
Nurse Crooks said that as the rehabilitated person gets closer to moving into the workplace, the preparation moves into fine tuning. At this stage, they are taught how to take orders from employers and to take pride in what they are doing.
Nurse Crooks also added that the entire programme is designed to help build confidence in the patients. "We make sure that they have confidence in themselves so that when they are told something by someone they don't get easily depressed," she said.
SURVEY
In a survey recently conducted by CUMI, it was found that homeless persons on the streets of Montego Bay now number more than 75. According to the survey, 67 of them, or 89 per cent were male, while eight were female. The survey did not make mention of any children although mentally-ill children are sometimes seen roaming the streets of the city.
Of the total number of street persons interviewed, 45, (60 per cent) were believed to be mentally ill, while 21 (28 per cent) were drug addicts. The remainder ended up on the streets as a result of social and/or economic problems.
Street people in Montego Bay came in for much international attention in 1999 when there was a general outcry after agents of the State kidnapped 32 of them and subsequently transported them to St. Elizabeth, where there were dumped near a mud lake.
