KCCA Urged to integrate the needs of the Disabled Homeless in their 5-year Dev't Plan.

As Uganda joins the rest of the world to commemorate international women's day,Mental Health Uganda urges the ministry of health to give guidelines for the provision of community mental health care as provided for in the mental health act 2019.

According to Barbra Lamara head of legal Mental Health Uganda,this will not only increase access to care but also support full integration of homeless women with mental disabilities back into their communities.

Speaking during the homeless women lives matter too campaign,Lamara urged the public and private sector to prioritize the needs of homeless women with mental disabilities as this will support efforts to build a sustainable country.

The police training department should ,in their curriculum ,integrate capacity building of their officers to handle cases involving people with mental disabilities as thi will support efforts to increase access to justice for people with mental disabilities, says Lamara.

On her part Juliet Nakukwago a member at Mental Health Uganda said that as the world commemorates the Women's month,the state and plight of homeless women with mental disabilities in Uganda remains in the shadows and unknown to many.

She says women with mental disabilities suffer violence ,stigma ,isolation,rejection and often end up being homeless and these women are at triple disadvantage given that they are women ,have mental disabilities and are homeless.

In 2020,Mental Health Uganda in partnership with Kampala Capital City Authority established two drop -in centers at Kiswa and Komamboga HCII in Nakawa and Kawempe Divisions respectively with an intention of bringing services closer to the communities and reduce movement challenges for homeless women with mental disabilities  in other divisions who were finding it very difficult to keep coming back  to the drop-in center at Mental Health Uganda main office in Rubaga Division.

We are calling upon KCCA to take full steps to integrate the needs of homeless people with mental disabilities with in their 5-year development agenda as well as  ministry of Gender,Labour and Social Development to prioritise homeless women with mental disabilities in the agenda  for social protection and gender and gender equity in uganda says Lamara.

One of the beneficiaries with Mental Health Uganda services Janat Nangonzi urged the general public to end stigma and report cases of abuse of homeless women with mental disabilities to police and relevant authorities