Take mental illness seriously

THE EDITOR, Madam:

The bizarre killing of a child and the injuring of the child’s mother by a man of unsound mind in St Mary recently brings back the issue of mental illness into the national conversation. I don’t have all the facts on this case, but it is important to note that people with mental illness are not normally violent when they get proper care and medication. Therefore, every effort needs to be made at the policy level to ensure there are systems in place to keep mentally ill persons on medication and away from homelessness.

Despite the establishment of a task force on mental illness and homelessness in 2018, the mentally ill still suffer from high rates of homelessness and joblessness. We need to stop the talk and put the issue of mental illness, joblessness and homelessness on the front burner.

It is time that we, as a country, safeguard the human dignity inherent in all human beings by treating the community of the mentally ill with the resources that would allow them to maintain their sanity and lead normal lives. The sad and unfortunate incident in St Mary should awaken our conscience towards the underlying problems associated with mental illness. Resorting to mob killing is not going to solve the problems associated with mental illness.

It is estimated that there are over 100,000 people in Jamaica living with mental illness, and close to 2,000 of them are living on the streets. It is not beyond us, as a country, to give the much-needed support to this segment of the population.

ANDRE WELLINGTON

Christiana PO