Maharashtra Govt Finally Gives Nod To Set Up 16 Halfway Homes For Mental Health Patients

The Maharashtra government gave nod to start 16 halfway homes for mental ailment patients in four regional mental health hospitals in the state.

A provision of INR 5.76 crore has been approved by the state. This will be done in association with the department of social justice and public health. The NGOs running these homes will be given Rs 1,200 per patient on a monthly basis.

All these homes will also have medical officers to look after the patients and ensure the prescription consumption of medicines. In case of medical emergencies, the patients will be rushed to the nearby medical health hospitals.

These new homes will not only help the patients reintegrate into the society but also provide them vocational training to be economically self-sufficient after discharge—giving a ray of hope to hundreds of abandoned patients.

For those unversed, the state government’s decision to shift homeless and mentally ill patients follows a Supreme Court directive in 2017 where it ordered all states and union territories to set up rehabilitation homes for abandoned, homeless and treated patients — those who don’t need hospitalisation. The states were asked to comply within a year, however, it has been delayed for years.

It was a result of a writ petition filed by one Gaurav Kumar Bansal in the Supreme court in 2016 where he raised concerns over a need to set up rehabilitation homes for mentally ill persons.

Halfway homes are transitory residential centres for persons recovering from mental illness—although they don’t require full services of hospitals but aren’t ready yet to live independently on their own. After years of confinement within the walls of hospitals, the homes provide a gateway to strengthen their capacity for independent or community living.

When a patient is on the way to recovery, he/she evolves better when shifted to a different resident. They learn to evolve and develop social skills. This helps them to adjust better in a new environment when released from the hospitals.

These homes will have vocational trainers, psychologists and social workers. Doctors believe that introduction of more half-way homes can help to wean-out the stigmatisation around asylums.