People suffering from mental illness are making city streets their home and this is becoming a cause for concern among residents. The reality of these transients made headlines when a man, believed to be suffering from mental illness, threw a rock at a shared taxi, killing one of the passengers, 65-year old Maria Isabel Espinal, on Av. Sabana Larga in Santo Domingo East on Tuesday, 16 July. The Police later arrested suspect Amauris Rodriguez (Amauris El Loco).
Today’s Listin Diario, Friday 19 July, reports that mentally ill people are frequently seen at main avenues such as John F. Kennedy, Maximo Gomez, Independencia, Gregorio Luperon, 27 de Febrero and Duarte. The newspaper warns that their numbers are on the rise and that the situation requires urgent action from the Ministry of Public Health authorities.
Public Mental Health director Jose Mieses Michel says that many of these people receive care from specialists on the streets and are taken to the Psychiatric Hospital, but they can only stay for a short time because hospitalization is discouraged by modern psychiatry. He said the plan is to build day centers where 15 or 20 mentally ill people can be cared for during the day. A first center of this kind is in operation in Gualey. The ministry is also considering equipping special homes where homeless people can stay, as well as psychosocial clubs where patients can meet.
www.listin.com.do/la-republica/2013/7/19/285086/Viven-en-un-mundo-incierto
www.diariolibre.com/noticias_det.php?id=393521&l=1
www.elnacional.com.do/nacional/2013/7/18/166428/PN-apresa-supuesto-enajenado-mental-mato-mujer-de-una-pedrada