Why we rehabilitate the mentally challenged– Dr. Onajin

Dr. Yetunde Onajin is the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Nature’s Crest Home and Rehabilitation Centre,  a halfway home and a multi-health facility set up principally to provide rehabilitation services for the mentally and behaviorally challenged individuals in the society. She speaks to Isaac Ngumah in this interview about the mission and prospects of her rehabilitation centre

What is the focus of your Centre?

Our services are focused on rehabilitation, recovery, support and promoting well-being.  These include but not limited to comprehensive mental health assessments, referral to mental health facilities for additional support, medication management and compliance, motivational Psychotherapy (one to one / group therapy), anxiety management, care planning and training for after and ongoing care management, support to discontinue  substance abuse/become abstinent, community based detoxification, advice and education in relation to risk of using, drugs/alcohol/medication, relapse prevention, improve psychological health and wellbeing, minimize psychological distress, enable people to live their lives to their fullest, potential  training and capacity building.

How did it begin?

After I graduated from the University of Ibadan Hospital I joined the Lagos State Health Management Board, did internship with the General Hospital, Lagos. I did my Youth Service at National Orthopedic.  Thereafter, I joined then General Hospital, Ikeja which is now the Lagos State Teaching Hospital. After a while, I  went into private hospital management. I established and managed  Optima Clinic and Children Hospital.  I later relocated abroad and worked at different health and social management levels in various councils. When I retired, I returned to Nigeria and established Nature’s Crest Home and Rehabilitation Centre. As a medical student going through medical postings, I have always had empathy for people who are mentally challenged because a lot of them do not ask for it. They just found themselves in that situation. But there are some who actually asked for it by abusing psychoactive substances.

What inspired you to go into this business?

As I was retiring, I realized that there was a need for people who are mentally challenged to have a lot of supports. Initially I was thinking of the elderly but because of the challenges that mental health entails I opted to supported the mentally challenged individuals. I found out that there are lots of supports available for the elderly from their children and family members.  They can arrange for support workers or caregivers to take care of them as well as employ maids. But for people who are mentally challenged, they are even though mostly often loved by their family members, they are ill equipped and ill prepared to manage them without specialist support. So, we decided to have a home where we can continue to rehabilitate patients after being discharged from the hospital. This entails real rehabilitation and in that process, the family members are free to visit to see the way we relate to them and family membered are assuredas their loved ones are discharged home.

How many residents have benefitted from this service?

We opened in October 2013. That makes us six years old in the business. In those six years, we have rehabilitated well over 150 people both people who are psychologically challenged and  are those who are abusing substances . The job here is a team work of dedicated professionals and it is multi-disciplinary. We engage the services of psychiatrists, clinical psychologists; physicians, occupational therapist, social workers, trained psychiatric nurses, caregiversand crucial support workers.  What we do is holistic and it takes care of all their needs both psychologically and mentally.    We are the first private rehabilitation Centre which embraces psychodrama. We organize various vocational trainings and assist residents to return to schooling and higher education.

What are your challenges so far?

Challenges are much and in various degrees.  We are an NGO that encourages parents to donate little from what they have. So, we complement their contributions. We are not a registered charity organization. Some parents realize the need to support us and we appreciate their efforts. Technically, we need to increase the capacity of our electricity and facilities. We are working on alternative power supply.

Do patients exhibit uncontrollable aggression?

Not exactly. Before they get to our Centre, they have already been treated in hospital. They come here for rehabilitation. So they do not project much aggression to us. Cases of violence or aggressiveness are rare. However, occasionally, they may be agitated and there are ways and manners we deal with such situations when it arises. In this, we do not have anybody chained down or detained.  There are modern ways of dealing with a person who is challenged without having to restrain him physically and that is what we do here. However, everybody has a purpose in life. The mentally challenged have dreams and aspirations. So, we make them understand that these dreams and aspirations must be achieved and that when they key into the program here they have hope for the future.

Were there objections from your family when you wanted to start?

When I wanted to go into it, my husband felt I didn’t need to do it. He was concerned about my age at 62 and risks.  I told him it is about my passion. I saw it as a calling and as my own ministry. So I was able to convince him that he didn’t need to worry about my age and likely violence. All my family members have been convinced that am absolutely safe with what I am doing. They actually love it. They are hundredpercent in support. They contribute their own quota.

Any support from individuals and the government?

A family donated money to expand and modernize our kitchen.  Some families. my churchand a  former resident donated bags of rice, beans, cartons of table water, packs of noodles  and other food items. For government, we wrote the   Lagos State Ministry of Health. As of the time we wrote in 2013, we wanted partnership with us. We wanted them to see what we are doing and what we are hoping to achieve and roll it over their local government council. We attended various meeting and conferences but it is on the table for final decision.

Are you stigmatized for being involved with mentally challenged people?

Everywhere in the world except the developing countries, stigmatization of mentally challenged people is not as it used to be. Those days, they isolate them in asylum. People paid money to visit them like they go to the zoo to visit animals. But over time, they realized it was a wrong thing to do and they introduced hospitals and with time, they became part of the community. That’s what we are proposing. Everywhere in the world, mental health is no longer a big deal because they know when you are under amelioration and you become stable, you can hold even the highest job in any organization.  So, that’s what we are trying to promote here. We reintegrate back into the community so that the community can see that it is not a big deal to have a mental health challenge.

Do their loved ones visit them?

Yes, they do visit them. I am so glad that despite the challenges of their children, parents never give up. We do send them home for what we call parole. They go and spend time at home with their family members. They come back and we do the final therapy and we discharge them finally and they are reintegrated into the system again.

 What kind of dream do you have for Nigeria?

My dream for Nigeria is where people who have challenges are not stigmatized; where they have equal opportunities.

How can the government be of assistance to you?

They can visit us and see what we are doing. They should study what we are doing and roll it over to the local government councils, so that mental health care becomes more accessible to the people.

How did you source for support when you started?

I raised loans from abroad.