Job insertion and supervised housing, main demands of AFEM on World Mental Health Day

The square of SS MM los Reyes de España in Benidorm hosted this Tuesday the official commemorative event for World Mental Health Day, an event in which nearly 200 people participated and which was chaired by the mayor of the city, Toni Perez. The display of a commemorative banner from the main balcony of City Hall opened the day and, after it, the official reading of the manifesto and other actions took place, organized by the Association of Relatives and People with Disabilities and Mental Illness of the Marina Baixa (AFEM), with the collaboration of the Department of Social Welfare.

Heriberto Morales, the AFEM collaborator, was this year the person in charge of reading this manifesto, which he recited in verse and where he demanded, among other things, “active listening, affection, never judging” people with mental illness. In the poem he has also asked public administrations to “normalize mental health services” and companies, “non-fictional contracts” for this group. The right to decent housing, economic autonomy, empathy, or “being able to live comfortably in a world of equality” have been other aspects to which this AFEM collaborator has drawn attention in this original manifesto.

These demands were also formulated by Pompe Muro, the president of AFEM, who focused on three aspects that, in her opinion, would improve the quality of life of many people who suffer from some type of mental illness. First, greater social integration; also labor integration, and, finally, supervised housing. “We have signed many agreements but there is hardly any work” for people with mental health disorders, he explained, after which he also explained that, currently, “many of these people live with their parents, but there will come a day when they are not there” and that they will need these supervised homes to be able to continue living in conditions.”

In addition to the mayor of Benidorm, the councilor for Social Welfare, Ángela Zaragozí, and other members of the Municipal Corporation accompanied family members and AFEM users in this commemoration. The event continued with the performance of a drag queen and also included the participation of María José Serralta, head of the Psychiatry service of the Health Department of the Marina Baixa, and other members of AFEM.