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    "id": 904827,
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    "content": "go through, being in the public limelight and the pressure that comes with that. Some of them are still young and have challenges with finances, and there are a lot of expectations from them. You can imagine the challenges they go through. I also attended a summit on reducing suicide cases in Africa at Daystar University, and there were many stakeholders who made contributions. This is has been quite a journey for me, but I received a lot of support and you can see why. It is because the Government has not been doing anything. Nature abhors vacuum. Therefore, people have to try and do many things. I was happy to hear in one particular forum that there are specific small groups that do community work around mental health issues in the counties. They mentioned about three or four counties where they had done a pilot project. One of the issues that this Bill seeks to address is community-based care when it comes to mental health patients. The gravity of mental illness in this country cannot be understated. As we look at this Bill, I urge Senators that we all become ambassadors and speak about it in our various counties or wherever we go to, even if it is abroad. It does not matter because this is also a global issue. Let us become ambassadors and kill the stigma by speaking about it. Let us speak on this issue in depth. Let us give our experiences as well, like we did during the Motion, so that Kenyans can see that we are also human beings and have also walked this journey. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, if I have to highlight, the purpose of this Bill is to promote mental health and wellbeing of all persons, including reducing the incidences of mental illness. Reducing the same means that there are certain programmes and conversations that have to be at county levels. The second purpose is to co-ordinate the prevention of mental illness, access to mental healthcare, treatment and rehabilitation services of persons with mental illness. I like the rehabilitation part of it because that is a critical aspect. When people are rehabilitated, instances of recurrence are also reduced. Access to mental healthcare also includes conversations of prevention. That is also important. In one of social media groups, there is a doctor who said that since he opened his clinic, he gets more and more patients. Logically, the more you treat people, the less they should come to seek for medical attention. That means that they just treat, but do not help with preventive care. Preventive care starts with how you live and eat, and the state of your home. So, there are certain conversations that need to take place, so that cases of illnesses can be prevented. The third purpose is to reduce the impact of mental illness, including the effects of stigma on individuals, family and the community. There is no doubt that when you are declared to have a mental illness or disorder, somehow, your nuclear and even the extended family gets tagged. That is absolutely wrong. Like we said, these are illnesses that can be treated. We need to fight the stigma, and that is what this Bill seeks to achieve. The fourth purpose is to promote recovery from mental illness and enhance rehabilitation and integration of person with mental illness into the community. There is the issue of integration. I remember in one of the parliamentary forums on gender-based The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}