Mentally ill need treatment, but also our understanding

At home one afternoon, I heard a knock on my door. It was a police officer on patrol. He asked if I could be a "witness" in a case of "trespassing" and then led me to the flat next door. A woman was inside. Feeling puzzled, I watched the officer walk round the flat, then tell the woman: "Don't worry, I've kicked them out!"

There was no one else in the flat, of course. In the end, the officer called an ambulance, and the woman was taken to hospital. The officer contacted her husband and handed me the phone. The husband apologised for causing me trouble. I never asked if his wife was mentally unwell. There was no need.

Seven years ago, the Society for Community Organisation (Soco) and I collaborated on a book and an exhibition of photographs of 14 recovering psychiatric patients. Happily, the project received some public attention. It also inspired the launch of a programme that arranges for volunteers to regularly visit patients to offer friendship and mental support.

But just as I was feeling pleased about the impact of my work, I read media report after report of tragedies involving the mentally ill. The negative public perception of these patients appears to be becoming entrenched. We seem to be back where we started.

As the wealth gap grows and the pressure of making ends meet becomes worse in Hong Kong, more people seem to be succumbing to mental stress. According to Hospital Authority figures, some 200,000 Hongkongers are receiving psychiatric treatment and/or related support services in the public health system. In total, an estimated 1 million to 1.7 million Hongkongers suffer from some kind of neurotic disorder, including depression.

Clearly, people suffering such distress are no longer on the margins of society; they're part of us. The officer's knock on my door told me this much.