They normally issue medication to patients but today the staff from the Mental Health Program were serving lunch. The guests of honour were 150 mental patients who received free lunch courtesy employees of the Community Treatment Program. The director Dra. Claudina Cayetano told us that it is their way of spreading the Christmas spirit.
Dra. Claudina Cayetano, Psychiatrist
“They are also getting a gift, they are getting their juice. We are very fortunate, those of us who don’t suffer from any other not only physical or mental illness but we can celebrate Christmas with our family. Most people don’t have that privilege to be able to have a meal, a decent meal, especially at a time like Christmas and I think it is an opportunity to give.
This is just one part of what we should be doing. There is lot more that I personally would like to see happening in terms of making sure that people could have a job or a place to stay and they can be treated with more, they are human beings and they can be treated with more respect and more dignity.”
