TEN women have found sanctuary at the Ashram Mental Health project.
All have experienced mental illness including psychotic depression and schizophrenia and find it difficult to cope alone.
The flats are monitored 24 hours a day and staff are always on hand to offer practical help, supervise medication, organise activities and encourage the women to feel comfortable in their home.
Scheme manager Reita Lebrock says: 'What the women have here is security and safety. There are staff here if they relapse. These are people who realise they are ill and won't just get angry and say they are mad.
'We want them to live as normal lives as possible so they are encouraged to do their cooking and cleaning and have the opportunity to spend time together if they want to.'
Residents pay rent and bills and have certain rules to obey such as regulating visitors and the need to let staff know when they are leaving the centre.
But Ashram Group chief executive Jas Bains says these ten flats are just the tip of the iceberg. 'We have a waiting list running into hundreds,' he says. 'But it is a very complex funding relationship with money coming from social services, health and the housing corporation and it can be risky to launch such projects when they are dependent on grants. 'If the funding were to be withdrawn we would be left high and dry.
'But there is a demand. There is nowhere else in Birmingham catering to this specific group. Most such centres are mixed gender and this can matter to this cultural group. 'These women are already feeling exposed and vulnerable and they feel more comfortable with others who share a cultural background.
'It is a matter of offering somewhere they feel comfortable and safe.'
