Mental Health in Armenia
The mental health system in Armenia has failed to adequately meet the needs of orphans with mental illness and disabilities who are over the age of 18. The lack of humane living conditions and rehabilitation opportunities for this population of Armenia stem from the ideology of the large state-run psychiatric institutions where this population is primarily kept. These institutions are based on an ideology that was inhumane from conception.
During Soviet times, the institutions were designed as places where individuals with mental illness/ disability, could be cared for apart from society and family. Instead of providing quality individualized care and rehabilitation towards the ultimate goal of reintegration into society they thought their role was to benefit society by keeping this population out of sight. Furthermore, euthanasia was a common "solution" to the "problem" of caring for these individuals during Soviet times. To this day these institutions are still referred to as "graveyards" by the general population.
Euthanasia is no longer practiced in Armenia, but the stigma surrounding this population remains, and this has created a climate in which sufficient funding and training for the care of this population is lacking. If nothing were done the initial residents of Warm Hearth, eight orphans from Kapan would have been sent to one of these "graveyards". Still to this day, many individuals with needs similar to our residents, are being relegated to these institutions for lack of other opportunities and options.
The patients in these institutions are without sufficient food. In winter, there is no heating and the thin blankets fail to keep them warm. Many of the patients are unnecessarily treated with tranquilizers and sedatives so that they will not be a nuisance. The patient to doctor ratio in some institutions is 115 to 1.
Places like Warm Hearth are an urgent necessity. The situation in the institutions is bleak, to say the least, and we are committed to keeping as many individuals as possible from being committed to these institutions.
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