The article with the same title in the newspaper "Hayastani Hanrapetutiun" on July 1st and the news story broadcast by National TV on June 29th tell about the State psychiatric hospital in Vardenis. On the initiative of the Armenian Social Investments fund a group of journalists visited the Vardenis psychiatric hospital, the neuropsychiatric boarding house and the old-age home (these three institutions share the same facilities). Closer acquaintance with the elderly and the patients, their living conditions and many basic problems prompted  the journalists to stage a charity event to assist the complex. The unimaginable poverty and desolation that we saw in Vardenis speak louder than words about our "care" for patients, single elderly people and children.

The Vardenis psychiatric hospital is 15 years old and the recent years have been the worst in its history. The social-economic crisis did not spare this institution. The financial difficulties brought many moral problems that cannot be solved by the psychiatric hospital, without the active assistance of the society. Since early 1990s the number of mentally ill patients has grown rapidly: today there are 185 patients in the psychiatric hospital, 40  in the boarding house, including children, and 20 - in the old-age home, most of whom are refugees from different regions of Azerbaijan. The existing funding of the psychiatric hospital, the boarding house and the old-age home by the government is grossly inadequate in terms of providing proper care and treatment for the patients and for the elderly.

The government allocations are not sufficient for clothing, shoes and medicine. It has been two years since the state does not  provide the corresponding allowances appropriated from the State budget. The story about the helpless patients forgotten and abandoned by the state, society and their relatives may provide an opportunity to reveal the creativity of the people living there and may serve as a cause to discuss the painful reality that society does not know or prefers to ignore.
At this exhibition you will have a chance to see dollies made by Hasmik who has lived in the neuropsychiatric boarding house for over ten years. Hasmik has made them out of all sorts of possible material that she had on hand: threads from old rugs, parts from old clothing . Her wonderful dolls can be bougth at our exhibition. Pictures taken at the psychiatric and neuropsychiatric clinics and old-age homes will be also exhibited. There will be a screening of a video-film about the neuropsychiatric clinic. With good will and motivation each one of you can make a contribution to the solution of the basic problems of the patients.

Please, take part in our event and remember: difficulties and problems do not disappear even if we do not wish to notice them!

"Monte Melkonian" fund, Yerevan Press Club, NGO Training and information center, Internews Armenia, "Cooperation for Democracy" organization and a group of students from Canada offered their readiness to take part in the event and to help the psychiatric clinic. 
The event is scheduled for this October.
 

Initiative group:   Edik Baghdasarian
                              German Avagian
                              Noune Alexanian