“Institute of Public Policy” NGO, “Legal Analysis and Development Center” NGO, “Health Policy and Innovation Center” NGO and “Warm Hearth” Foundation (Alterchoice Consortium) jointly implement the project named “Human rights based policy in the field of mental health as a guideline” (hereinafter referred to as Project). The project was launched on June 2021 and will last 1 year.
The project is implemented within the framework of the “Data for Accountable and Transparent Action” (DATA) program supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF) and DATA partners.
The Project emphasizes the realization of the right of persons with mental health problems to live independently and to be included in the community.
The goal of the Project is to support the development of evidence-based policy for the introduction of the system of small social care homes and related services in the field of mental health in Armenia.
The vast majority of people with mental health problems are still in care and psychiatric institutions, isolated from the community, deprived of the opportunity to make decisions. In addition, the process of developing a mental health policy in the Republic of Armenia is not participatory or research-based.
- The project will begin by the creation of a Network aimed to protect the rights of people with mental health problems. The Network will serve as a platform for stakeholder cooperation. The network will give an opportunity to mobilize the resources with an aim to make heard the voices of people with mental health problems and of other stakeholders, to influence deinstitutionalization policies, and to protect their rights and interests.
- Within the Project a toolkit-guideline will be developed, that will facilitate fact-based research and advocacy in the field of mental health. The toolkit-guideline will be used not only within the Project activities and research, but also by each interested stakeholder after the end of the Project. A three-day workshop will be organized for civil society organizations, researchers, and human rights defenders, to develop the capacity to use the toolkit. Three participants selected as a result of the workshop will conduct short-term research through mentoring to reinforce and apply the knowledge and skills gained within the scope of the workshop.
- In the next phase of the Project, a study will be conducted on the system of small social care homes and related services for people with mental health problems as well as on the possibilities of its large-scale use in the Republic of Armenia, with the ultimate goal of policy improvement.
The research and other Project results will be made public through video interviews, media materials and other publications. Due to the meetings-discussions to be held in the capital and regions, the activities and the results of the Project will be made available to stakeholders, responsible structures, as well as to the general public.
Thus, the Project will provide an opportunity for stakeholder cooperation, will increase public interest in the topic, will develop tools to support sectoral research, and will provide research-based proposals to improve sectoral policy.
For more information, please contact the Consortium by [email protected] e-mail address or +374 77755141 phone number.
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This Project is made possible by the generous support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The ideas expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of “Institute of Public Policy” NGO and other Consortium members and do not necessarily reflect the views of EPF, other DATA partners, USAID or the United States Government.
