WEEKS AFTER raising $2 million from its 10K run, the Committee for the Upliftment of the Mentally Ill (CUMI), has announced another ambitious project.

Come December 1, CUMI will introduce preventative measures by extending its services to families caring for mentally-ill relatives.

Tagged 'Tuesday Sessions', caregivers will be taught methods of coping at CUMI's Rectory Drive, Montego Bay, St James, headquarters from 9 a.m. to noon.

"Under the supervision of psychologist, Dr Pearnel Bell, family members of persons suffering from mental illness will now receive help on how to cope," said CUMI's nurse administrator, Joy Crooks.

Keeping relatives informed

According to Crooks, there are a number of family members who are unaware of the procedures necessary in getting assistance for relatives suffering from mental disorder.

"For instance, getting them admitted to a mental-health facility," she said.

As a result, caring for their own can become demanding and extremely stressful, resulting in a domino effect on their relationships.

She added that relatives who are informed, tend to go about caring in a better way, while those who are unaware; see everything around them as a crisis.

"If you operate in a crisis, it influences your perception," she argued.

Preventative measures the way forward

Having worked with the organisation which, since 1991, has served more than 1,500 clients, 750 of whom have returned to the community as productive individuals, Crooks is convinced that preventative measures are the way forward to ensure fewer mentally-ill people are abandoned by their families.

The funding for the project comes from the trust fund that was established by the organisation, said the nurse administrator who added that the account has been bolstered by the $2 million collected from the 10K Come Run, which was held at the Tryall Club in Hanover in September.