Funding crisis leaves Berea patients in the dark

RESIDENTS of Azalea Halfway House in Berea have been living without basic utilities for weeks. Concerned relatives contacted Berea Mail to report the issue, asking how patients with mental health issues can be expected to live in such conditions.

Durban and Coast Mental Health (DCMH) which runs Azalea Halfway House, blamed theft and dwindling funds for ongoing water and power outages, adding that they have faced food shortages as well.

Relatives questioned whether corruption had led to misplaced funds.

“Water and lights have been out for weeks. The home caters to patients with schizophrenia and some patients don’t understand why they are in the dark. It’s not fair for patients to live like that. We understand that the utility bills have not been paid,” said a relative who wanted to remain anonymous.

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DCMH confirmed that the electricity and water supply was on and off during the month of February while issues with the electricity supply have continued into the month of March. They said breaks in the water supply were caused by copper pipe theft on a number of occasions while power cuts resulted from an unpaid bill that accumulated over time.

”As an independent, private NGO we rely on funding from donors in order to operate and provide much needed care to service users. Funding remains a major challenge for the mental health fraternity at large and we have not been immune to this. This has had a direct impact on the provision of water, electricity and sometimes food to our service users,” they said.

The NGO said they addressed water supply issues by installing a plastic pipe system. To address the broken electricity supply, DCMH said they met with the Mayor of Ethekwini who has assigned a team to assist.

“A meeting has been held with the heads of departments and various solutions are being explored including a payment plan with the municipality. In the meantime a generator has been bought by DCMH to keep lights on at the centre and for general usage,” said DCMH.

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City’s response

Spokesperson for the eThekwini Municipality, Msawakhe Mayisela confirmed that the City offers a debt relief programme, however he declined to comment on Azalea Halfway House.

“The City does not discuss matters pertaining to a customer’s account with a third party. As a caring City, eThekwini Municipality has a debt relief programme whereby residents and/or customers are encouraged to come forward and make arrangements to pay off their outstanding debt in terms of the Municipality’s Credit Control and Debt Collection Policy. This can be done by visiting their nearest Sizakala Centre for further information,” said Mayisela.

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