Over the past two days, the case of Gianpier has sparked discussion across the media and social networks. Gianpier is a young man who was found a few days ago in the district of San Miguel, and four young people—Daniel, Paulina, Nirvana, and Sissy—decided to help him.
He was a person living with mental health conditions who had been abandoned. How many of us have encountered people like Gianpier on the streets? Unfortunately, the most common reaction in our country is to cross the street and avoid making eye contact. Gianpier’s story reminds us of the importance of making these situations visible, especially when the public institutions that should be there to help fail to respond as they should.
A few months ago, my mother came across a very similar situation in Barranco. A man was being forced out of a restaurant, most likely because he had gone inside looking for food. My mother went to a nearby Starbucks, bought him a sandwich, had it warmed up, crossed the street, and handed it to him. He seemed so disconnected from reality that he barely looked at her. He quietly took the bag and walked away holding it in one hand.
She called SAMU (Peru’s Mobile Emergency Care System) by dialing 106, but was told that "they could not respond because they only handle medical emergencies." My mother explained that this was a mental health emergency, yet she received the same response. They suggested she call the National Police by dialing 105, but when she did, she was told once again that "they do not handle those types of cases."
The same thing happened to Gianpier. Paulina explained on her Facebook page that the Fire Department told her to call the police, and that she also saw local municipal security officers who "forced him to leave and mistreated him." From my own experience, I know that when municipal security officers do agree to pick someone up in these situations, they often simply drive them to another district and leave them there so that the case is no longer their responsibility.
Paulina also reported that Larco Herrera Hospital allegedly refused to admit Gianpier at around 2:00 a.m., despite his referral from Santa Rosa Hospital. She further stated that hospital staff allegedly attempted to report the person who had assisted Gianpier and taken him there for abandonment.
Cases like these happen every single day, and unfortunately the authorities still do not take responsibility. There is still no clear and effective public policy to address them. Only recently has the government begun implementing protected homes, residential facilities designed to care for people with mental health conditions who have been abandoned. However, there are still far too few of these centers across the country, and many local authorities remain unaware of how they should respond to these situations.
Likewise, it is important to recognize that there are also changes we must promote as a society. These people, who have names, families, and life stories, spend their days wandering the streets, often until the end of their lives. We cannot remain indifferent while another human being is forced to live this way, existing in a parallel reality until death eventually reaches them. That person could be someone's brother, sister, father, mother, uncle, aunt, friend, or loved one.
Unfortunately, my mother, Daniel, Paulina, Nirvana, and Sissy are not representative of how most people react. But if you are reading this, we ask you to pause and think twice before crossing the street when you see someone in this situation. Hopefully, one day a mental health emergency will be met with the same empathy and compassion as a physical health emergency. After all, if we saw someone collapse in the middle of the street because of a broken bone, a heart attack, or fainting, none of us would simply cross the street without trying to help. Would we?
#EveryoneForMentalHealth
