~ To commemorate official opening ~
by Judy H. Fitzpatrick
CAY HILL--Queen Beatrix on Thursday unveiled a plaque at the entrance of Mental Health Foundation's (MHF's) new building, the former Sylvia Hotel in Cay Hill, signalling the official opening of the new facility.
The Queen, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima were also given a tour of the foundation during their visit at around mid-afternoon, Thursday.
Scores of persons had lined the street opposite the foundation's building, some waving flags, to catch a glimpse of the members of the Royal Family. "This is very special for me," said Holland-born St. Maarten resident Mariette Schrijvers, one of the spectators. "In Holland we never get to see the queen this close. The Queen is very special to me."
The foundation held a separate ceremony with scores of invited guests in the evening to mark the official opening of the new building. Guests included former owners of Sylvia Hotel.
Chairman of the Board Dr. Felix Holiday said that thanks to education mental health care has come a long way. He recalled as a little boy, persons with mental health issues were seen as "strange persons" whom it was felt someone had worked "obeah" on. He said no one at the time thought that these persons had to seek medical treatment; however, years of medical knowledge has changed this and persons with mental illness can now seek treatment for their condition.
Dr. Holiday singled out families of persons suffering from mental illness in St. Maarten and said they should be credited for the years of hard work that they put into caring for their families.
Foundation Director Eileen Healy described the occasion as special. She said the journey to get a new building had been a long, but fruitful one. She credited all the persons who served on the board at the foundation, volunteers, government, contractors, Windward Islands Bank and the MHF staff, and supporters for making the foundation what it has become today. "We went through a lot of ups and downs," she said adding that in the end it paid off.
MHF obtained its new building in November 2010. The building was renovated and the foundation relocated in July and August 2011.
MHF has since expanded its services and now operates five care areas at its new location: Clinic Care, which provides intake, psychological /psychiatric evaluations and initial treatment for admission; Psychiatric Home Health Care (PHHC) that offers at-home treatment to patients/clients physically or mentally unable to leave their home; Faraja Centre offers daily coaching in empowerment and re-socialisation; Crisis Management assists in crisis situation through intervention and support; and, Prevention and Information generates information from all care areas and directs it to the community through presentations, workshops, sessions and interviews.
The two new services now being offered are In-patient Care, which provides care for clients who are in an immediate crisis and/or are in need of 24 hour observation, and Guided Living - a re-socialisation program through which clients having deficits in social and life skills would acquire the essential capabilities for functional independent living.
The start of MHF's 24-hour in patient facility as of October 2011 means that mentally ill persons, who are for whatever reason detained, no longer have to be locked up in a prison cell or sent to Cura�ao's mental facility as was customary in the past. Patients in St. Maarten can now receive proper psychiatric assistance and can be monitored 24-hours at the in-patient facility.
MHF sees its new home, its guided living and the in-patient care facility coupled with the quality services provided, despite challenges over the years, as its greatest successes.
There are over 400 patients and clients registered with MHF; however, the foundation believes that the number of persons in the community suffering from mental illness surpasses this figure.
MHF will continue its opening celebrations with an open house today, Friday November 4. The community can visit the foundation and get an hourly tour of the building starting at 9:00am. There is also going to be an open house party this afternoon from 4:30pm to 7:30pm.
Other members of the current board are Fenna Arnell, Eric van der Hoek, Joeri Essed, United People (UP) Party Member of Parliament Dr. Ruth Douglas, Jimmy Challenger and Rogier Brands.
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