Surge in number of mentally ill in Hanover cause concern
Published:Tuesday | March 14, 2023 | 12:58 AMBryan Miller/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Lucea Deputy Mayor Andria Dehaney-Grant is expressing concern over an increase in the number of of mentally ill people on the streets of Hanover, wondering whether they are just showing up in the parish or if they are being deliberately transported there.
“Over the course of [last] week, we have seen like, I think, about three females coming into the communities, and they say that they are from Spanish Town, so I am particularly concerned in terms of the fact that all of them say that they are coming from the same area,” the deputy mayor said. “I hope they are not being taken here because we already have our fair share of homeless and mentally ill persons to deal with, and any additional [numbers] will only put more stress and strain on the systems in place.”
Last Thursday, Dehaney-Grant called on the Hanover Health Department (HHD) to develop an effective plan to care for the mentally ill living on the streets of the western parish.
“I have seen an increased number of insane persons on the streets of Hanover, and I am particularly concerned because they are now venturing into the communities outside of Lucea. Students have become concerned and elderly persons in the communities are concerned because they do not know these people,” Dehaney-Grant told The Gleaner last Thursday following a Hanover Municipal Corporation meeting where she raised the concern.
“I am also concerned about the level of support that we get from the HHD in terms of with the mentally challenged. It always seems like an uphill task to get them to respond when we call them about things like these in the communities,” continued Dehaney-Grant. “They (the mentally ill) will see someone like children on the roadways and ask them for stuff, and the children are scared.”
Fritz Francis, the deputy chief public health inspector for Hanover, who represented the HHD at the meeting, said the department has not been ignoring the Dehaney-Grant’s complaints.
Dr Marcia Graham, who is acting while Medical Officer of Health Dr Kaushal Singh is on vacation, told The Gleaner that while she has been asked to oversee activities in Hanover, questions about detailed intervention for the mentally challenged should be put to Singh when he returns.
“I am covering the desk for urgent matters. I would not be able to speak in a fulsome way as to what the normal day-to-day operations are within the community mental services in Hanover,” said Graham, indicating that Singh should return to work by March 20.