THE Cagayan de Oro City Government will allocate P1 million for the House of Hope, a charitable institution established to shelter individuals who are mentally challenged.

The City Council on Monday, October 8, approved a Memorandum of Agreement which will authorize Mayor Oscar Moreno and House of Hope Foundation to boost the partnership.

Under the agreement, the city vows to allocate P1 million worth of financial assistance every year for medical supplies and other needs of the clients.

The House of Hope, for its part, shall oversee the operation of the facility and will also accept help from the City Social Welfare and Development Office.

City Councilor Reuben Daba said this is part of the city's commitment to level up the mental health programs of Cagayan de Oro.

He said the city officials remain hopeful that these mentally-challenged individuals will be treated and live a normal life.

City Mayor Oscar Moreno earlier disclosed his plan to take over the operations of the foundation.

At present, the psychiatric care facility is owned by the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro City.

The city only provides medicines while diagnosis and prescriptions are done by psychiatric doctors of Northern Mindanao Medical Center.

If the facility is under the Archdiocese, Moreno said it might be difficult to ask for financial support from the Department of Health (DOH) because of the separation of church and state.

“Hopefully, if the land title will be transferred to the city, the DOH might be encouraged to help upgrade the facility,” Moreno said.