Good morning, good afternoon and good evening readers,

Hidden within the picturesque mountainous landscape of Spitak is the revolutionary Spitak Care House, housing fourteen people all experiencing mental health issues. We sit drinking coffee and eating a delicious homemade marble cake with the staff of the home. The manager sits with his eyes bursting with an undeniable love for his job and the people there. I ask him what his favourite thing is about working at the home, to which he replies, “My favourite thing is seeing people discover that they have choices, wishes and dreams”. Before coming to reside in Spitak Care Home each person has spent a period of time in one of the many mental institutions from the Soviet era of Armenia. With their legal capacity taken from them and with no option to leave the institution to even visit a shop, many of the ex-residents forget their basic human right of choice. In the first few weeks in their new home the staff would ask “Would you like tea or coffee?”. They could no longer understand that they had a choice between two hot drinks. In an institution where your right to choose has been removed from you, you accept what you are given and forget that you can question this. This is not the only thing that has been taken from them. In losing your legal capacity, you also lose your pension. Therefore, you find yourself sharing a room with fifteen strangers, all of varying conditions, where cleaners seldom come and the nurses are understaffed. In addition to this, you have lost your income. So even if you were to apply to the courts and receive your capacity back, where do you go and how do you afford to go anywhere? Whilst our services can always be improved in the UK, I realise how fortunate I am to be able receive support from the NHS and also have such a wide variety of information available to me.

On our way through home’s gardens we see rows of trees that each resident in responsible for. We also see an extremely cute pig flower pot made by one of the staff members from a plastic bottle.

The simple delicate touches of homemade pigs, mushrooms and brightly coloured flowers perfectly show the loving care that people pour into this home. As we make our way into the home we enter the art therapy room. Robbie Williams “Angels” is softly playing in the background and we are welcomed by a sea of bright colours. The walls are lined with the residents’ art work and a collage of tapestries and paintings hug the walls. One resident tells us about his paintings and how they depict India, where he spent much time with an old friend who taught him how to speak English. Another resident shows us her many tapestries, each of which takes a week to complete. She has spent a lot of time working on her masterpieces and pride beams with her face as I pick out my favourite piece.

The benefits that the residents receive from the home are not confined within its welcoming walls. From the start the project has been dedicated to becoming a community-based support, the important word being community. Initially the local community were weary of the residents. Given that over 80% of news reports in Armenia referring to “mental health” involve a violent crime, their angst is not surprising. However, after time both sides warmed to one another and those lines have now been successfully blurred. One of the residents teaches children in the local community Maths and another is a certified “handy man”. The locals also come to visit the home on a regular basis.

I first discovered Spitak Care House after researching attitudes towards mental health in Armenia. Despite difficulties in establishing the service due to a lack of funding and support from the government, the project still persisted. Many staff members found resources to furnish the home and one person even donated their own carpets. It is one incredible example of how the Armenian people are trying to overcome the deeply instilled fears towards the sensitive issue of mental health conditions. Even to this day, many people remain silent. For the very few, where they have lost all hope, they resort to jumping from Hrazdan bridge. An experience that I have personally seen the result of. A year ago I learnt a valuable quote that will sit in my heart forever, “It is better to light a candle, than to curse the darkness.” Spitak Care House is a primary and inspirational manifestation of these words, illustrating perfectly how Armenian’s are committed in improving their society.

To find out more information please visit their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SpitakHouse/

In inspired kindness,
C x