ITANAGAR, Sep 19: The first Indian Police Service (IPS) officer from Arunachal Pradesh Robin Hibu has appealed to individuals, institutions and organisations across the State to extend support to the Deepak Nabam Living Home at Senki View, Itanagar, which provides shelter and care to destitute and abandoned persons, elderly people, orphans, persons with disabilities and those battling addiction and mental health-related challenges.
Hibu made the appeal after visiting the institution on Friday, describing it as an important social service initiative. He said more than 300 people from Arunachal Pradesh and neighbouring States are being cared for at the facility. The residents include elderly persons, abandoned women and children, persons with disabilities and people recovering from addiction and mental health-related conditions. Many of them, he said, come from difficult family and social circumstances.
Recalling his interaction with the residents, Hibu, currently serving as Special Commissioner of Delhi Police, said the visit was an emotional experience. He appreciated their resilience and highlighted the talents of some residents, including two who performed Nyishi and Apatani songs followed by a Hindi song.
Hibu also drew attention to the modest living conditions at the facility, where several residents are accommodated in bamboo-thatched structures. He said some residents requested his help in returning home, but their families or relatives were reportedly unwilling to take them back.
He appealed to schools, colleges, universities, ITIs, government training institutes, offices, businesses, entrepreneurs, cultural organisations, associations and individuals to visit the Living Home and contribute according to their capacity, either in cash or kind.
Suggesting that educational institutions could organise visits to the facility, Hibu said such interactions could help sensitise young people towards empathy, compassion and social responsibility. He also encouraged families to mark birthdays, marriages, anniversaries and festivals by sharing food or essential items with the residents.
Hibu urged families and communities not to abandon persons with disabilities, blindness, addiction or mental health challenges, but to provide them care, dignity and support.
“Change starts from your mind, so also empathy and humanism from your heart,” he said, appealing for collective support to the Living Home and its efforts to care for vulnerable people without family support.