From threading eyebrows to trimming hair, a beautician training course is being offered to women who have recovered at the government-run Regional Mental Hospital at Yerawada.
A beauty parlour has also been set up at the women’s wing of the hospital premises and, initially, three women who have recovered from mental illness are undergoing training.
The Covid-19 pandemic had disrupted rehabilitation activities at the mental hospital.
The hospital has tied up Yashaswi Samajik Sanstha and Sarika More of the NGO to conduct the beauty parlour course. “So far three women are enrolled and they are enjoying the course,” Dr Geeta Kulkarni, Deputy Superintendent of the Regional Mental Hospital told The Indian Express.
The Covid-19 pandemic had disrupted rehabilitation activities at the mental hospital. Occupational therapy activities such as sewing and making paper bags and stationary items, which are routinely encouraged to engage the mentally challenged persons, had come to a standstill.
“It has been a challenge but we took concerted efforts to ensure that our patients practice social distancing and wear masks. There have not been less than ten Covid cases in our hospital but rehabilitation activities were impacted,” Dr Abhijeet Phadnis, superintendent at the state’s largest mental hospital, said.
“As a pilot project we are now involving women who have recovered to undergo the beautician course training. Initially three women whose families cannot be traced but have been here at the hospital for more than two years will undergo the training,” Dr Kulkarni said. There are 1,055 inmates at the hospital of which 496 are women. However, there are several patients who have recovered but have no families to return to.
With the help of Bapu Trust, another NGO, the hospital has recently rehabilitated seven women in the community. The ‘Going Home Project’ envisions creating a pathway for recovered women living within the regional mental hospital premises.
