Mental illness does not have the "respectability'' of other diseases, such as diabetes or osteoporosis, and is commonly swept under the mat by those who suffer from it, their families and friends, and the community at large.

And that is something which the recently-formed Bermuda Mental Health Foundation vows to change.

"We want to bring mental illness out of the cupboard, and advance it to the top of the heap, if possible -- to show that it is not the terrible thing everybody thinks it is, but just another illness,'' chairperson of the Foundation, Lady Waddington, said.

Far from shirking contact with or responsibility for the mentally ill, the Governor's wife said everyone must pitch in to make their lives better.

"It is our duty to help the mentally ill just as it is our duty to help anybody in society who is disadvantaged. If nobody stands up for these people they are never going to get anywhere. They are always going to be at the bottom of the heap.'' Indeed, her long experience of working on behalf of the mentally ill has led Lady Waddington to declare that "mental illness is the Cinderella of health services worldwide.'' "This is one illness which has no votes attached because everyone is silent about it. The mentally ill have no clout because of the stigma, and both family and public perceptions are that there is no hope because mental illness cannot be cured.'' The Foundation will make correcting these issues part of its mission.

Also on its agenda is the acquisition of a permanent residence where the mentally ill, once they are stabilised by the appropriate medical treatment, can live as everyone else lives, but with the addition of qualified psychiatric staff to ensure they continued to take their medication and function well.

At present, the Foundation estimates there are at least 50 mentally ill people permanently living within the general population at any given time who have neither an acceptable, permanent standard of housing nor a daily living environment appropriate to their circumstances.

The Foundation also estimates there are approximately 100 mentally ill people permanently living in the community who cannot readily cope with the norms and stresses of the everyday working world.

So it is using Mental Health Week to begin a two-fold project aimed at improving the lot of the mentally ill.

To give an idea of just how much work lies ahead in the area of public education, Lady Waddington felt bound to begin her interview by defining the difference between "mentally handicapped'' and "mentally ill.'' "A mental handicap is something you are born with. It may be genetic, or caused through brain damage, or epilepsy. Mental illness is a disease, just like any other disease, such as diabetes. Everyone is vulnerable, and anyone can get it.'' In terms of organisations addressing these issues, Lady Waddington stressed that, whereas Project 100 -- with whom she was "thrilled'' to be involved, and which she described as "one of the best organisations on the Island'' -- raised funds "for the education and support'' of the mentally handicapped, the Bermuda Mental Health Foundation would be working on behalf of the mentally ill.

Apart from educating the public about mental illness and correcting a host of misperceptions associated with the disease, the Foundation would be actively pursuing the acquisition of a permanent residence for the mentally ill, and quietly raising funds for the purchase.

A sum of money, left in a will for just such a facility, is already to hand, and work will soon begin on acquiring the rest.

"But we won't be holding balls and high-profile fundraisers,'' Lady Waddington assured. "We will be adopting a quieter approach.'' The establishment of a permanent residence for the mentally ill was a key recommendation in a formal study completed in 1993 by the Rehabilitation division of St. Brendan's Psychiatric Hospital.

The study envisaged that such properties would be acquired, organised and overseen by a non-profit group so that the mentally ill could live and work in the community, and enjoy a better quality of life.

The Mental Health Foundation has incorporated these stipulations into its official mandate and objectives.

In cautioning the public not to get the wrong idea about the scheme, Lady Waddington stressed that -- unlike many long-stay hospitals abroad which closed, releasing mentally ill people back into the community unsupervised -- in Bermuda supervision would not only be professional but constant.

In any case, she said that many stabilised mental patients were already living in the community in accommodation rented by the Bermuda Government, and had been doing so for many years.

While the scheme generally worked well, authorities were anxious to end the transience of rented accommodation and secure something permanent over which those who ran it would have control.

"We want to acquire accommodation which the mentally ill can regard as their home, and where they can live for as long as they feel they want to,'' Lady Waddington said. "Then, at least one of the stresses in their lives will be removed.'' Explaining the need for professional supervision in such a home, Lady Waddington said: "If you are putting people into the community you must have a psychiatric community nurse who is going to visit them and make sure they are well, that their medication is working properly, and that they are safe.

"They are not well enough to be allowed to live on their own. If they are not supervised, they may forget to take their medication, wander into the street, go somewhere else, get worse, and become street people.'' In fact, it is not often appreciated just how many stresses the mentally ill have to deal with as a result of unenlightened public thinking.

Employers don't want to hire them; people are afraid to socialise with them in the mistaken belief that, at any moment, they may become irrational or even violent; families are unwilling to admit a loved one has a mental illness; and patients themselves are reluctant to talk about their disease, knowing that any admission of having it -- now or in the past -- is almost certain to consign them to social isolation.

Thus, their lives lack purpose, productivity and income.

Yet, the Bermuda Mental Health Foundation says that, "with appropriate treatment and family support, the vast majority of Bermuda's people who have suffered from major mental illnesses are able to return to a normal lifestyle within the community.

"The missed potential in people with serious mental illness is horrendous and something which should be addressed,'' Lady Waddington said. "Don't waste people.''