THERE has been a noticeable increase in the number of people with mental disorders roaming the streets, markets and public parks of Jeddah. Many suffer from serious mental disorders, which if left untreated, can result in violent behavior. Al-Madinah Arabic daily interviewed several people to find out the causes of mental illness and why so many people with mental disorders are not receiving the proper care and treatment. A.S., aged 52, said he has been suffering from a mental disorder for a long time. His family, fed up of his behavior, kicked him out of the house and he has been living in the streets ever since. “On some days I'm out of control and I do wrong things. I might hurt myself, so my family has given up on me even though they are the closest people to me. I am a human being. I have no income to spend from. The street has become my home. Philanthropists help us with a few riyals, but days pass and I don't have anything to eat or drink. “Some philanthropists took me to the Ministry of Social Affairs but they refused to accept me. The philanthropists also took me to the Mental Health Department. They too could not solve my problem. We are living amid the dens of crimes and drugs under flyovers and in narrow alleys. We are susceptible to being run over by vehicles or exploited any time,” he added Another man, who refused to give his name, said he was 30 years old, is referred to as “the merchant of the poor” and “the cleverest of mad persons”. When an Al-Madinah reporter approached him, he began uttering strange words and then started throwing rocks at the reporter. Elsewhere, on the city's Siteen Street flyover, a woman who lived in a makeshift hut said she suffered from numerous diseases, including hypertension and diabetes and claimed to have been living in the hut for the past five years. Psychiatrist Dr. Majed Ali Qanash said people with mental disorders roaming the streets is a serious issue and society must realize that their presence poses a grave threat to all members of society, old and young. “They are portraying an uncivilized image of the country of the two holy mosques,” he said. He added: “We are fully responsible for them and must report them to the concerned authorities like the police as they are responsible for referring them to the Ministry of Social Affairs. The state should take care of such people by setting up a home for them, providing all the basic necessities, including food, clothing, education, guidance, rehabilitation and the means to live a decent life.” Qanash criticized hospitals for discharging patients with mental disorders without providing them proper care and treatment. “Many who are admitted to hospitals are given a few medicines and then discharged under the pretext that there are not enough beds. Some hospital administrations are forgetting the need for psychiatric and behavioral treatment, which is more important than physical treatment,” he said.
