And while she dodged out of that one, Garcia Ramirez was willing to talk about the efforts to address the issue of a number of mentally ill persons roaming the streets and populated areas with nowhere to treat them in a controlled environment.
Minister Garcia says that it has to be a multi agency response, including the Ministry of Health and Home Affairs:...
Thea Garcia Ramirez, Minister of Human Development
"I think that there are 2 or 3 other ministries that can contribute to it. We are already working with the ministry of Human Development, family support and gender affairs with the ministry of health and wellness and with the police department to ensure and the ministry of home affairs to establish protocols really. We are a ministry full of social workers some of whom are smaller in build and height than I am and in all honesty I would not encourage them to go out and face some of the clients that are in the conditions that you described for their own safety. You likewise cannot expect a doctor or a nurse to go out by themselves because they are there to give medication if needed and obviously the police department need help from the other 2 so it has to be a collaborative effort on how best we are able to help. Because first they may need stabilization, then they may need the wraparound services. So there are already, I believe, plans and a project moving forward to ensure that we have spaces for people that need more than just your 2 or 3 weeks to be stabilized. Some people need, honestly, more time, more time to stabilize, and more time to go back into their homes. Even families are having a hard time with the family members that have these issues and so it is very difficult."
