CHENNAI: With surprise etched on her face, a woman stands by the door as we speak to Rekha, a senior health worker at Adaikalam, the transit-care centre of the NGO, The Banyan. Rekha politely asks her to go back, promising her she will come to her in a while. The woman is one of the 17 residents Rekha has been taking care of every day for the past few years. The 17 are among 150 mentally ill, rescued from different places of the city.
So it falls on Rekha’s shoulders to bathe them, feed them, look after their personal hygiene, cheer them when they are gloomy, cajole them to attend vocational classes while swallowing the tantrums, mood swings and their verbal abuse when they are upset, with a smile on her face.
But Rekha has no complaints. “They will swear at me when they are angry. But some of them are so attached to me, they will not eat or take medicine under the supervision of anyone else,” she says proudly.
But she confides that she wasn’t as confident as she is today, when she joined the Adaikalam seven years ago. With an undergraduate degree in History, Rekha had applied for the post of a receptionist, but was offered the job as a healthcare worker. She had accepted it as a chance to serve the society. “Initially I was very scared. The first time I served food in the dining, I was slapped by a resident. We were asked to serve a particular amount, but the patient had asked for more. When I refused she gave me a tight slap across my face,” Rekha laughs.
Even though the incident made her think twice about her decision, she realised leaving the place was not a solution. Rekha knew she had to understand the residents and their needs well, and that the violent and abusive behaviour was a result of their illnesses.
“Apart from psychiatrists and doctors who look after the medical needs of a patient, healthcare and social workers have a big role to play in a patient’s journey from rescue to rehabilitation,” says Lakshmi Narasimhan, senior research associate at The Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health (BALM), Covelong.
With most of the residents rescued have mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and mental retardation, Lakshmi says it sometimes becomes difficult to convince a rescued person that they are being taken to a safe place, where they can recuperate and start life afresh.
“We rescue people when they have been driven to extreme behaviour, and they do not trust anyone. So, it becomes important to gain their trust. Healthcare workers, who work closely with them, in a way, fill the void of family by looking after their needs and listening to their stories,” says Archana Padmakar, a research associate at BALM.
Says 22-year-old Suganthi, a senior healthcare worker, “As a child, I had seen an old woman in the neighbourhood – someone I was very fond of, being sent off to an old-age home by her children. The incident left an indelible mark on me and I have ever since wanted to work for the destitute,” she says.
Having developed a strong bond with the women she works with, Suganthi says it pains her when they leave or die. She remembers the day when Sitamma, a 60-year-old client was rushed to the ICU. “She was critical and there were over 10 people in the room. She didn’t speak to anyone, but called me to her side. Even though Sitamma is no more, the gesture is something I will cherish forever,” she says.
We also met Shwetha Abigal, a social worker who works as a resident assistant programme manager at the organisation. Just the previous day, Shweta had visited a resident’s daughter to know if she would like to take her mother, Radha, when she recovers. “She bluntly said ‘No’ to my face,” says Shwetha. “Radha was diagnosed with mental illness four years ago. While her husband abandoned her and remarried, her children are also not willing to take her home.”
Trained social workers like Shwetha explore many options that can help a patient find her way back to the mainstream and lead a respectable life even when the family doesn’t accept them.
“I have 16 patients, five of them are extremely ill. While the doctors and healthcare workers take care of the medical needs of the residents, it is my responsibility to assess their psychosocial state through informal interactions and find out from them how they’d want to lead their lives from now on,” she explains.
While there are many who recuperate and go back home, there are others who prefer to stay. Although she’s happy to see her patients function again independently, it pains her when they relapse. “We take all efforts to trace the family and explain to them about the illness. While many honour the instructions, there are others who refuse to accept. This way whatever has been rebuilt over the years goes down the gutter,” she rues.