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Monday, February 06, 2006
Councilor asks for DOH action on mentally disturbed vagrants
A CEBU City councilor wants the Department of Health (DOH) to come up with an appropriate rehabilitative program that will assist mentally disturbed individuals roaming the city’s streets.
Councilor Edgardo Labella called on the DOH to immediately address the sorry plight of those in need of mental health care, but have no access to hospital facilities.
He added that by providing immediate and appropriate attention to the mentally troubled individuals in the streets, the agency could help rid the city of these individuals, who could endanger themselves as well as the public.
Aimless
Leaving the unwashed and partially clothed individuals to roam aimlessly in the sidewalks, pavements and alleys makes it seem that they have been left out by concerned government agencies, he said.
“Letting mentally disturbed individuals move freely in the city’s streets might unwittingly or wittingly elicit the impression that the City Government has turned a blind eye to this socially important issue,” Labella lamented.
In a proposed resolution, he urged the DOH “to institute an appropriate and humane approach to provide assistance to mental patients on the streets designed to rehabilitate their shattered lives in the long run.”
The councilor proposed the measure after hearing apprehensions of some concerned citizens about the presence of mentally disturbed-looking individuals, especially in the downtown area.
By assisting these individuals, Labella said unsavory spectacles or disturbances in the streets involving them could be avoided.
Besides, he added, the bustling open spaces and streets are not the proper environment for their healing. (LCR)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (February 6, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
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