In a letter written to the UT administrator Gulab Chand Kataria on Wednesday, director of National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bangalore urged him to keep Group Home for its original purpose only and not diverge it into senior citizen home.The NIMHANS director said that there should be reasonable time given for this Group Home to fill up. (HT File)Director, NIMHANS, Dr Prabha S Chandra wrote “People with chronic mental illnesses are often the most marginalised in the Indian community. A common refrain of family members is ‘What after us?’ Assisted living facilities are very few in our country. When I heard of the administration going ahead with building a Group home for persons with mental and intellectual disabilities, it kindled a hope that other states would follow and do the same.”The letter came after the UT administration decided to convert half of the 80 seat Group Home into senior citizen homes and advertised admission for the same. In his letter Dr Prabha said “I also learnt from my colleagues in Chandigarh that there are a few senior citizen homes being run by the administration and NGOs in and around the city. However, this new Group home is the only government-run assisted-living facility for persons with mental disabilities in the UT.”“I strongly feel that the new Group Home should be reserved for its original purpose only. There should be reasonable time given for this Group Home to fill up, at least 2 years or so. As more and more Psychiatrists become aware of this facility and families see the place being run efficiently with trained staff, more people will come forward for admissions’, emphasised Dr Prabha.