Despite initial opposition, the State's first therapeutic centre for people with mental illness has firmly established itself as part of the community, writes Carl O'Brien, Social Affairs Correspondent
JOAN HAMILTON had just returned home from fetching some groceries in town when she saw a group of people gathered outside her house in rural north Co Cork.
Armed with placards and chanting slogans, the protesters were voicing their opposition to a therapeutic residence being planned in the area for people recently discharged from psychiatric hospital.
"I literally got weak at the knees when I saw it," says Hamilton, the founder of the Slí Eile housing project. "I just couldn't believe it. This is a small community. People all know each other here. And here were people outside my door calling for it to be shut down. It was one of my lowest points, I think."
The protests didn't end there. Several evenings a week over the course of several months the protesters would arrive outside the site of the planned facility in a newly built housing estate on the outskirts of Charleville, Co Cork.
Her car was surrounded by picketers on one occasion. On another occasion, one of the home's would-be residents was followed into the town by some protesters, one of whom walked backwards in front of the resident wielding a large placard.
That was two years ago. These days, things couldn't be more different. The centre - now situated in the town of Charleville - has firmly established itself as part of the community. Furthermore, it has become a beacon of hope for people who believe there is a better way than the current psychiatric system to recover from mental illness.
Slí Eile is a therapeutic community residence for up to six former psychiatric hospital patients. It's a homely atmosphere in which patients and staff are encouraged to be open, communicative, and mutually supportive, and where residents can learn again how to cope for themselves, to cook, to shop and run their lives.
Generally, the residents have had more than two stays in a psychiatric hospital, need a place to live and have been deemed to be ready to live in the community by a consultant.
"We are not caring for people here, but we care about them," says Hamilton. "It's supported living, so it's a stepping stone onto something more permanent."
The search for an alternative model of recovery came from Hamilton's experience of the lack of support available for her daughter when she became mentally ill. "My daughter would be admitted to hospital and then discharged into a void with no support. Inevitably, she would be readmitted. Soon, the length of time between admissions became shorter and the stays in hospital became longer. I just felt despair and hopelessness," she says.
"Around 75-80 per cent of admissions to psychiatric hospitals are re-admissions - that says it all. People are discharged to nothing. Then they're re-admitted and all the time they are getting worse, not better."
Hamilton got together with five other parents and established the Cork Advocacy Network to act as a voice for patients and their families. They expected a few dozen families to attend a conference they organised on alternatives to the mainstream psychiatric service. Instead, they were overwhelmed when 700 people turned up.
The Slí Eile housing project was born out of this hunger for change. Now that one centre is up and running, other campaigners want similar facilities in their own areas.
It's a difficult road ahead, though. While capital funds are available from the Government for social housing, securing funding from the Health Service Executive for day-to-day expenses at a time of spending restrictions is arduous.
Hamilton argues that the Slí Eile approach makes economic sense. She says the cost of running the facility is significantly less than a mainstream community residence.
But perhaps the most gratifying source of funding has been from the community itself.
Charleville has rallied around Slí Eile, organising a fundraising concert in the local church, while secondary school students from the local CBS have been volunteering their time at the centre.
"All in all, this has been very positive," says Hamilton. "Both for the community, which is behind us, and especially for the residents, whose quality of life has vastly improved."
'They trust you here': Slí Eile in practice
Ruth Quinlan (30) has made huge strides in recent years as she
recovers from a debilitating cycle of mental illness. She is just
weeks away from completing a certificate in tourism which could set
her
up for a job as a travel agent. She also hopes to travel
abroad again, maybe to Australia, to see some of the world. But
most of all, she is looking forward to having her old life
back.
"Slí Eile has been great for me - it's so much better from what I was used to in the psychiatric hospital in Cork where I was for the best part of two years," she says.
"I felt very isolated there. Some of the staff were very nice,
but there were wards with 20 or 30 people. Most of them were older
people. A lot of them were in a bad way, very institutionalised and
under the
influence of drugs. It was hard to have much hope in
there."
In Slí Eile, Quinlan says the atmosphere couldn't be more different. She has her own room, decorated with her own photos and posters, she socialises with people her own age, and has great optimism over her future. "You can add your personal touch to things here. You're more in control of things. For example, it's self-medicating, so instead of a nurse making a big fuss and forcing tablets on you, you're treated like an adult here.
"If we have any problems, we sit down and talk about it. It's small and a friendly environment. They trust you here - and that makes a huge difference."
A conference on the Slí Eile approach to recovery takes place at the Charleville Park Hotel on April 18th. For more details, e-mail slieile@eircom.net or call 063-70435.