Ire against Chandigarh Admin’s move: People with disabilities need dignified community living, not enclosed flats, say mental health experts

“Many of these people have moderate mental disabilities. They can live independently, but sometimes they need support. The middle-aged need a group home because their parents are getting older and they don’t have siblings or their siblings don’t live here. Some of these people sometimes also end up on the streets. Therefore, a group home is required to accommodate them. This can be similar to a nursing home with the added facility of having a psychological counselor and nurse in the house,” said Dr. Simmi Waraich, a renowned Chandigarh-based psychiatrist.

Family members of people with special needs also cited the 2017 Mental Health Act, which contains provisions on community living. “My 42-year-old sister lives with schizophrenia, while my mother has bipolar disorder. Many other families like ours have been raising the demand for a group home with the UT Administration for the last three years, but we have not yet been offered a concrete or viable solution,” said Megha Sood, a resident of the city.

He added, “We recently learned through the media that UT Administration is proposing to convert some flats in Maloya into a ‘separate compound’ for people with special needs. This is a very bad idea because such a facility will worsen the mental health of those housed there instead of improving it. They need open, green spaces for recovery and recreational activities. The flats may be suitable for people who live with their families, but not for the community that lives in a group home.”

During Thursday’s press conference, Gurpreet Singh, a psychiatric social worker, shared his experience of receiving training in running group homes in Bangalore. “We don’t have any such facility in this region, which is why many families from Chandigarh and Punjab have to go to cities like Bangalore or even abroad to house their relatives. But not everyone can afford to do it,” he said.

The Administration had recently announced that a group home facility would be built on 1.25 acres in Sector 34. However, the Citizens for Inclusive Living association stated that such a facility could take a long time to build, while the needs of people with mental disabilities were urgent.

“We have no information about the proposal because families and mental health experts were not consulted about it. But until such time as such a facility comes along, these people must stay at Indira Holiday Home, Sector 24, which is the only large community place in the city that has rooms and an open green area. The place can also house seniors in a portion, green area being common,” said Neelu Sarin, president of Citizens for Inclusive Living.

A similar proposal, to establish a ‘serenity therapeutic village’, has already been submitted to the UT Administration with around 35 citizens also pledging a donation of Rs 20 lakh for the cause.