The number of people
grappling with mental health issues is growing by leaps and bounds. If anyone
becomes a caregiver to a loved one with mental illness for the very first time,
he/she will be ‘groping in the dark’ as it is no easy task trying to tackle any
type of mental illness – be it depression, schizophrenia, bipolar or anxiety
disorders.
A novice caregiver has to
quickly learn as much as he/she can otherwise they will so easily raise the
white flag. In managing someone with mental illness, the caregiver will have to
exercise extreme patience, deep understanding with lots of empathy and compassion.
In this day and age when life has become
so stressful, providing structural support for both the mentally ill persons
and their caregivers has to be put in place.
A good way to help the
mentally ill person come to terms with his/her condition and help him/her in
their recovery is for experience and resilient patients or caregivers to walk
with them along their journey. This is
why I proposed that Singapore starts a Peer Specialist scheme which has proven
to be successful in America. Details of my proposal which was put up way back
in 2012 is reproduced here on my blog. It was routed to the Singapore government
and mental health providers.
Peer specialists
needed to help caregivers of the mentally ill (Published on Saturday, July 28, 2012)
Both the Singapore Association for Mental Illness (SAMH) and the
Institute of Mental Illness (IMH) saw value in my proposal and employed Peer
Specialists in their respective organisations. Later, the Caregiver Alliance Limited
(CAL) and CLUB HEAL also employed Peer Specialists.
Then 4
years later, I proposed we build on that Peer Specialist scheme and introduce a
Caregiver Specialist scheme. Details are given here on my blog:
Public Suggestion: Introduce a Caregiver Specialist scheme to
help those grappling with mental illness (Published on Saturday, January 23,
2016)
Resilient caregivers who
have been instrumental in helping their loved ones or any other person cope
with mental health issues ought to be accorded due recognition by way of job opportunities.
I am a very vocal person
and very open about mental illness – and do not feel awkward of speaking
candidly of how I helped my late wife Doris manage her schizophrenia for 40 years. Through my undying love for my wife, I managed
to help her become an author of eight successful books. That is a pretty big
achievement, seeing that Doris also had to grapple with advanced arthritis that
left her mobility severely impaired.
I went on national TV and
radio 20 times – 10 on TV, 10 on radio and it helped raise so much awareness of
mental health issues and the struggles we face in a society that is yet to be
acceptable to the mentally ill. Sadly, it is not just the mentally ill who are discriminated
against, but their caregivers too.
But I will not be
discouraged in anyway. I will continue to soldier on and help save lives. Through
my counselling, often 24/7, and support for the mentally ill and their
caregivers, I have saved lives, 3 of whom were at first suicidal. All 3 are now
coping well.
During my career in
broadcasting, I had to balance work and family life, but the demands in
caregiving with lack of structural support drove me to suicide. But God saved
me as He, I believe, has a mission for me.
I was able to recover through
the wonderful support of my psychiatrist at IMH – the late Dr Ang Ah Ling who
was also my wife’s doctor. In the course of my treatment, I asked Dr Ang why
there is so much discrimination and favouritism, and he told me quite rightly
that discrimination and favouritism is everywhere and I had to accept that. Impressed
by my writing skills, Dr Ang encouraged to write books. This kind doctor paved
the way for me to start a writing career, and today I have 30 books to my name.
I intend to go abroad to
the Philippines in due course to visit an orphanage and teach English to the
children there as well as educate the people there on mental illness. The
organisers in a province are delighted! My advocacy work is not just limited to
Singapore, but abroad as well.
It now leads me to the Straits
Times article that was published on Saturday, September 9, 2017 – “Helping those with mental health issues
find work.”
In the article, the National
Council of Service (NCSS), the Workforce Singapore and social service
organisations will be introducing an apprenticeship scheme to help people with
mental illness find work. This training scheme conducted by trainers from the
US is only for Peer Specialists. Why?
To be frank, I am deeply disappointed
with the way things are going. On more than two occasions, I had applied for
the position of Peer Specialist with NCSS and IMH. I may be 67 years old, but I
had extensive experience in helping the mentally ill recover, I inspire
caregivers and the general public through my motivational talks on mental
illness at IMH, Silver Ribbon Singapore, at polytechnics and at times at SAMH.
When I applied for the
Peer Specialist position, it was rejected and I am given the standard civil
service reply: No vacancies.
Yet the very position of
Peer Specialist that I proposed has enabled the recovered patients find jobs
and now an opportunity to go for training through this apprentice scheme. It is not right to ‘cheery pick’ people that
the organisations favours – one way or the other.
The government recognises
now that you do not need a degree to get a job or move up the corporate ladder.
They also are keen to find jobs for the elderly so that they can be
self-reliant.
I hope NCSS and her
partners will adopt fair HR practices and give equal opportunity for seniors
like me to secure a peer specialist position so that I can continue to save and
reclaim lives. My contributions, whether
through press letters, counselling people on my own time, useful suggestions to
the government and public speaking should be valued at all times.
Raymond
Anthony Fernando
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