There are many centres in Kerala to provide temporary or permanent residence to marginalized people and people in need of support, like the welfare homes managed by the Department of Social Justice. Even though a significant percentage of the inmates of these institutions require regular psychological support, the facility for psychiatric care is grossly inadequate, mainly because of the scarcity of mental health professionals. In this context, the district psychiatric rehabilitation project was implemented with financial support from the Department of Social Justice.
The District Psychiatric Rehabilitation Project is an innovative project to provide psychological support to the inmates of the different social justice institutions in the Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad and Kannur districts and to promote rehabilitation services for mentally ill persons. The project was organized for one year from 1st November 2014 onwards. A rehabilitation team comprising a psychiatrist, Psychiatric Social worker, Clinical Psychologist and occupational therapist was formed as a mobile team. The group visited the institutions on prefixed days and provided rehabilitation and psychological services. Training programs and awareness classes for the staff, students and public were organized as part of the project. The project was found to be effective and a replicable model where mental health professionals are scarce.