"Mental health should be a priority of the State"

This year's slogan for World Mental Health Day, which is on October 10, is that mental health should be a priority of the State, institutions, organized groups and also of each individual citizen, especially in these difficult times we are going through, he says in a statement, the Association for the Protection of Mental Health.

The Association notes that recently we have witnessed discussions about the many problems facing the Athalassa Hospital, which "has reached its limits by operating under extremely difficult conditions, in an unsuitable space, with insufficient staffing and reduced services".

At the same time, he says, there is a lack of other accommodation structures for people with mental health difficulties, "resulting in the overcrowding of the Hospital and/or desperate efforts of each family to find solutions".

The Association believes that everyone, state and society, should assume their responsibilities by providing solutions to a group of society that has entered the margins, offering hope for a better tomorrow.

Cypriot society, it is pointed out, should discuss the issue openly, without prejudices, and help to improve the situation because mental health concerns us all.

For its part, the Association has regrouped and is setting new goals and priorities for the next two years to strengthen its role and work, which began in 1986.

"Our vision is a society where people with mental health problems can live in dignity, without exclusion, stigmatization and discrimination, enjoy all their human rights and are treated with respect for their autonomy and human dignity as equal members of society", the announcement concludes.