Mental patients face food crisis<\/p>\n
By Ida Indawati Khouw<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The administration's limited budget, soaring
\nprices of essential goods, an absence of donors and the rising
\nnumber of patients have turned the city's three centers for
\nmentally ill people into virtual concentration camps.<\/p>\n
Overstretched staff can do little beyond helping to keep the
\ncenters open and their patients, most of whom have become
\nemaciated, pale and weak, alive.<\/p>\n
Due to the unavoidable problems, the institutions -- Panti
\nSosial Bina Laras Harapan Sentosa 01, 02 and 03 -- have to use
\nthe minimal funds allocated by the city administration for the
\npatients' food to also cover other spending, including
\nmaintenance, sanitation and patient health care.<\/p>\n
The same funds are also used to cover the burial expenses of
\nthe patients, such as the purchase of the cloth for wrapping the
\nremains and to transport the corpses to the cemetery.<\/p>\n
As a result, the patients now have to share daily essentials
\nsuch as bath soap and toothpaste.<\/p>\n
The rice allowance for breakfast, lunch and dinner has been
\ncut by almost half, as has the tempeh and tofu rations. Fish,
\neggs and vegetables were removed from the menu months ago.<\/p>\n
In an interview with The Jakarta Post last week, the head of
\nthe Jakarta Social Services Agency, Emon Setia Sumantri, said the
\ncity administration's food budget was down to below Rp 2,000 (14
\nU.S. cents) per patient per day.<\/p>\n
Frustrated about the inadequate financial support for the
\ncenters, Emon said: \"If the city's poor financial situation
\ncontinues, we'll have no choice but to ask the centers'
\nmanagement to provide meals for the inmates only twice a day,
\ninstead of three.\"<\/p>\n
The problem for the managers is that the meal allowance for
\nthe patients is fixed, meaning that the city won't provide any
\nmore money, even if a center becomes overcrowded.<\/p>\n
In such conditions, the centers' managers are having to be
\ncreative to find ways to extend the lives of the patients, most
\nof whom are without families.<\/p>\n
At Harapan Sentosa O3 in Jelambar, West Jakarta, for example,
\nthe management has to work hard to provide enough food on a daily
\nbudget of Rp 200,000 for 192 patients, or less than Rp 350 per
\nperson per meal.<\/p>\n
In comparison, the average price of a basic meal sold by
\nstreet vendors outside the center's gates is Rp 2,000.<\/p>\n
According to the center's head, Soleh Badaruddin, the budget
\nis allocated by the administration on the basis of 100 inmates,
\nthe \"official\" capacity of the institution.<\/p>\n
What was worse, he said, was the soaring prices of foodstuffs
\nand other essential goods. Many centers' operators were now
\nworried about the health and future of their patients.<\/p>\n
The three centers, which have a total capacity of 450
\npatients, are now home to at least 733 insane people.<\/p>\n
Harapan Sentosa 01 in Cengkareng, West Jakarta, is 31 people
\nover its capacity of 250 and Harapan Sentosa 02 in Cipayung, East
\nJakarta, has 60 patients more than its capacity of 200.<\/p>\n
The three centers are the only institutions for mentally ill
\npeople funded by the administration.<\/p>\n
Poor menu<\/p>\n
Regarding the food, Soleh said that months ago the inmates
\nalso received fish and eggs.<\/p>\n
\"But the most important thing is that we'll keep on trying our
\nbest to prevent them from starving,\" Soleh said.<\/p>\n
In the past, he said, individuals, parties and agencies gave
\nhelp both financially and in kind.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Funeral Agency, for instance, provided all the
\nfuneral needs, including the unbleached cotton to wrap the
\ncorpses.<\/p>\n
\"Such help does not exist anymore,\" Soleh said.<\/p>\n
When an inmate died last month, the management had to take Rp
\n100,000 from its limited budget for the funeral, he added.<\/p>\n
\"The amount means so much for us as it's half our daily
\nbudget,\" Soleh said.<\/p>\n
\"So, we are now hoping not only for food donations but also
\nunbleached cotton for the bodies of our dead patients,\" he said.<\/p>\n
During visits to the centers last week, the Post witnessed
\ngroups of pale and weak patients sitting or squatting around the
\ncomplex.<\/p>\n
Those categorized as \"wild\" were placed in \"cells\".<\/p>\n
As in many centers for the mentally ill, some of the patients
\nat Harapan Sentosa 02 had their arms and feet tied.<\/p>\n
But the problems did not stop the workers at the centers from
\npraying, asking God's help for the disabled and society's
\noutcasts.<\/p>\n
\"We still trust in God that donations will pour in the
\nfuture,\" Soleh said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/mental-patients-face-food-crisis-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}