Health Minister Chris Fearne, together with the Richmond Foundation, today launched the first community hostel for women with mental health problems.

The Attard house will accommodate up to 10 female patients in single or double rooms. The residence features all the necessary facilities, including ensuite bathrooms, a dining room, a sitting room a wash room and a garden.

 The aim is to accommodate women who have been living for a long time at Mount Carmel Hospital and who have lost the ability to live on their own. Patients will be under constant watch and will relearn certain abilities, like cooking, cleaning shopping and planning, together.

Mr Fearne said community hostels were the preferred way of dealing with mental care. This was possible through collaboration between the government and NGOs, in this case the Richmond Foundation.  “Some patients have been staying at Mount Carmel for so long that they have become unable to live on their own. This is how they can be helped to reintegrate in society.”

Richmond Foundation CEO Stephania Dimech thanked the government for its support. She explained that the foundation covered the capital expense while the government pays for the services offered to patients.

This is the third community foundation run by the government and Richmond. The government also collaborates with another NGO, Fondazzjoni Suret il-Bniedem, on another hostel.