Friends of Fort England chairperson Roswitha Hobson is retiring after more than 10 years of dedicated service to patients suffering from mental illnesses.
Friends of Fort England chairperson Roswitha Hobson is retiring after more than 10 years of dedicated service to patients suffering from mental illnesses.
Hobson told Grocott's Mail that old age had finally caught up with her.
"We are all getting old now, as the committee we feel that younger people must take over," Hobson said.
Hobson reminisced about the community work that she has been involved in saying it has been a pleasure for her to work for Friends of Fort England, a Non-Governmental Organisation dedicated to providing humanitarian support to patients suffering from mentally illness.
Hobson said their work included fund raising, planning Christmas parties for the patients and ensuring they have adequate clothing.
"Generally people do not want to be associated with mentally ill people but the reality is that disability pensions are not enough," she said.
"Over time working with the patients you learn to appreciate that some people are different from others and you understand the signs and symptoms of mental illness."
Hobson said the hospital board of Fort England will now be taking over the function of the NGO.
"I will only be involved in the Corner house project,where we teach patients how to be independent when they come out of hospital," she said.
Hospital board member Catherine Letcher said that Corner House has eight members, all of whom have been discharged from a psychiatric hospital. It has been operating for 21 years.
The house receives no subsidy from Government's health or social services departments.
Letcher said the Friends do two street collections/card sales at Pick N Pay each year.
"This is a way for us to promote our organisation and raise funds for the two projects–the Corner House for Recovering Psychiatrics and the purchasing of Christmas and Easter gifts for each patient at Fort England (about 345 people) each time."
Communicating Grahamstown folk with mental illness is an issue that she wrestles with, as there is no real feedback to the community other than at board meetings.
She reports back at meetings of the Friends of Fort Engand the Association for Physically Disabled where she is a member and was their social worker.
Letcher said that at the Friends AGM it was agreed that, as Hobson was retiring and half of the committee members are pensioners, the remaining members would join the existing committee of Corner House, the Friends only project.
"I have great admiration for Roswitha, who has worked tirelessly for the patients of Fort England," Letcher said. "She has even taken up patient complaints and alleged abuses by hospital staff with the hospital management."
Letcher said the running of the library, the purchase of gifts and assistance with patient needs would now be funded by the hospital's board.
