When Pradeep Kumar (name not yet confirmed) was injected with tranquilizer dose to get him relaxed for further proceedings towards wellness and rehabilitation, he was not in proper mental condition to understand that it was going to be one of the most important days for his reunited family life in near future. But this first step of Samadhan workers on Tuesday towards Support Assistance Rehabilitation Training for Homeless Reintegration (SARTHI) has paved way for homecoming to not only Pradeep from somewhere in Simdega (Jharkhand), but has also opened gate for treatment and rehabilitation of at least 41 other such mentally challenged in the streets of Capital city to start with.
“This is a small step towards big goal of sending all mentally retarded wandering somewhere in the streets of the State. None Government Organisation (NGO) Samadhan which has been providing free treatment and lodging to mentally challenged has decided to take up this noble cause and we will give the organisation as much support from government as we can,” said Chief Convenor of SARTHI and Traffic SP Sanjay Ranjan Singh on Tuesday.
“We have identified as many as 42 homeless mental patients in city comprising 22 male and 20 female, who have no other abode than streets in all weathers. They don’t have even approach to any mental illness treatment centres despite Ranchi being home of one of the largest and respected mental hospitals of the region Ranchi Institute of Neuro-Psychiatry and Allied Sciences (RINPAS). We will reach to them one by one and will provide treatment and rehabilitation facilities. Once they are able to gain their consciousness, we will hand them over to their family,” said SARTHI Convenor and Samadhan Director Shahid Iqbal.
The team will be going to Dasham Fall area on Wednesday, where it has identified a mentally challenged homeless lady to get her back to the centre. Meanwhile, Pradeep was taken to RINPAS for further treatment after he was bathed and provided juice and course meal, which had remained luxury for him so far in streets.
CoBRA Battalion Deputy Commandant Jiya-ul-Haq said on the occasion that works with positive thinking and determination could bring tremendous change in society. He said that programmes like SARTHI would prove to be major steps towards making Ranchi a mental health friendly city.
Samadhan Senior Advisor Divya Tripathi said that adding youth with this programme could change perception of society towards those suffering from mental illness.