Mental Health News in South Australia Leads Backpacker Hostels to Watch for Mentally Ill
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Recent mental health news concerning the death of a young 22-year-old woman in Adelaide, South Australia is causing local hostels to watch out for those with mental health problems. This young woman had been mentally ill and staying in an Adelaide backpacker hostel. The woman’s, Toby Garratt, body was found over New Year’s Eve in the Adelaide Parklands near where she’d been staying. Another person is currently facing murder charges for her death.
However, this piece of mental health news along with the news concerning the death of a man in his 50s who had also been staying at a hostel in Adelaide is causing concern over the numbers of mentally ill people staying in the local hostels. In Southern Australia, it’s not uncommon for a mentally ill person to be referred to a backpacker’s hostel from the mental health system when accommodations are limited.
Now, people are concerned that this practice could be exposing the public and other international or interstate travelers to some danger. Plus, the hostel may not be the safest place for the mentally ill with no other place to go.
To make the hostels safer, South Australia’s Director of Mental Health Operations Derek Wright says that training will be given to staff at backpacker’s hostels to help them recognize and deal with people suffering from mental illness. He also stated that the staff at hostels will also be given access to a mental health triage hotline. However, Michelle Lensink of the South Australian Opposition MP stated that these measures fail to address the shortage of accommodations for the mentally ill, which leads to them being referred to the backpacker’s hostels for a place to stay.
Tags:Addictions, Anxiety, Depression, Mental Disorders Mental Health
June 20th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
This is clearly a case of us not understanding and caring for our fellow man. The necessary authorities should look into such situations to prevent them from happening.
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Diana King
Dual Diagnosis
Dual Diagnosis
dual-diagnosis.net