Community support and mental health
I also wish to express my concerns about the massive opposition this project has faced from local residents. I have been working with Slí Eile for the past four years as an external evaluator and believe I have an understanding of its history and objectives. My response is also informed by extensive research and teaching experience in the area of mental health and my involvement with community mental health initiatives.
It is now well documented that mental health in Ireland is one of the most neglected areas of social care. Community-based facilities have been slow to develop in comparison to other EU member states. The main response to a mental health crisis is hospitalisation, which usually exacerbates peoples’ distress instead of alleviating it. This is not because hospital care is in itself inappropriate but because of the way people lose their dignity by their treatment in this system. Seventy per cent of admissions in Irish psychiatric hospitals are re-admissions. This poses questions about the adequacy and therapeutic role of hospital care and highlights the lack of support following discharge.
