CUMI (Comitee for the Upliftment of the Mentally Ill) Montego Bay Jamaica

CUMI's Mission Statement ....to reach out and advocate for the homeless mentally ill of Montego Bay (and St. James) and within the limits of resources available, attempt to improve their level of physical and mental health as well as their basic quality of life. Dedicated to Restoring peace and Tranquility.

Client Rehabilitation

CUMI seeks to provide community-based outreach to and advocacy for the homeless mentally ill of Montego Bay and St. James Parish. The length of treatment is determined by the nature of the illness and the availability of community resources.

After the initial recovery of the client in a hospital setting, CUMI seeks to continue the stages of care by re-educating the client into the activities of daily living, such as maintenance of personal and household care, medication maintenance, skills training, and social and vocational rehabilitation. Without this second stage of treatment, the benefits of initial care through hospitalization would quickly be lost.

Skills Training

CUMI's Clients

There are 4 main groups which access the programme:

Homeless/mentally ill (66% of our caseload).
Homeless/drug addict (8% of our caseload)
Homeless/economically poor (as spaces are available).
Homeless/HIV positive (on a compassionate basis)

Services to these groups are provided through the collaborative effort of CUMI and various agencies in the Montego Bay area. Although CUMI's services are predominately for the mentally ill, it acts as the referral agency for cases of drug addiction, the economically poor and HIV+ cases. All clients are also provided with temporary services including food, clothing, shelter, medication, daily-living-skills training, community psychiatric care, and job placement.

These services are aimed at restoring them back to their family, a supported environment or independent living. CUMI works to insure that all eligible clients receive their entitlements (such as food stamps and Poor Relief aid).