WOMEN with mental disabilities face severe discrimination, abuse and exploitation – more than other groups of people who suffer from mental illnesses. There is a strong stigma against women with mental disabilities, who are often seen as a curse by their own families and communities. Because of this, the girls or women are either locked up inside their houses or chased out onto the streets to fend for themselves. Once on the streets, however, they are in danger of being abused and exploited by people who take advantage of their mental disabilities and their lack of protection. One such woman was found at a railway station in Coimbatore 20 years ago by Vanitha Rengaraj who rescued her and went on to start Sharanalayam, an NGO for women which would go on to rescue thousands in desperate need.
Once rescued, these women are brought within the walls of Sharanalayam where they have safe shelter, nutritious food, medical care, trauma counseling, skills training and the emotional support needed to recover from being abandoned due to their mental illness. Sharanalayam currently takes care of more than 100 women with mental disabilities and considers each woman as a valuable individual that is filled with potential.
To understand the challenges that women with disabilities face and the help that Sharanalayam provides as an NGO for women, let’s explore the issue and Sharanalayam’s intervention.
What challenges do women with mental disabilities face?
Mental disabilities are faced by people either from birth or are developed later on in their lives as a result of psychological or physical experiences. When mental illnesses occur, girls and women are left in a precarious state since not all receive care and support from their families. Since a person’s behavior changes, family members do not always know how to care for them or respond to their changed behavior. Without constant medical attention and access to medication, girls and women with mental illnesses suffer from a worsened condition and have no idea how to cope with their condition or get better.
But the danger occurs when the girls and women are just “thrown away” by their families because caring for them is too difficult. Vanitha shares that family members take the girls and women to railway stations or bus stations, put them on a train or a bus and just walk away, never to be seen again. But girls and women with mental illnesses are not aware of the dangers that exist around them. Once criminals and traffickers realize that these girls are women are unable to comprehend their situation and have no one looking out for them, they exploit these girls and women by subjecting them to mental, physical, sexual or other forms of abuse.
How Sharanalayam stands in the gap to rescue women
Vanitha Rengaraj and the team from the NGO for women receive calls from the police or the local authorities about girls or women with mental disabilities who are seen stranded in public places. The NGO’s ambulance and team arrive on the scene to assess the situation and speak to the woman to find out who she is, where she has come from and how she ended up in that place. In most cases, the women have no recollection of the events that brought them to that place. Some don’t remember their names, where they are from or what they are doing there.
In this crucial situation, Sharanalayam brings them to the NGO’s home where the women have access to safe and secure shelter, regular and healthy meals, doctor’s care, trained counselors and psychologists, skills training and recreational activities to keep their minds occupied and focused on improving their lives.
Every attempt is made to reunite the girls and women with their families, which is something they dream about. But more often than not, the women were abandoned by their families because of their mental disabilities. This is always heartbreaking for Vanitha and the Sharanalayam team to endure. The women beg the team members to dial the phone number of their fathers, brothers, sisters and other family members – only to find that the number has been blocked or changed. Once they understand that they have been abandoned, the NGO team is there to comfort and reassure them that they will always have a home at Sharanalayam.
How Vanitha Rengaraj started Sharanalayam
Vanitha Rengaraj was a college professor with a comfortable and respected job. She taught each weekday from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm, after which she would go to slums and other areas to meet underprivileged people, help them and listen to their stories. Their lives impacted her so much that she found herself being drawn to helping them – more than teaching. Despite the objections of her friends and family members, Vanitha quit her job as a college professor and started Sharanalayam in 2000.
Vanitha Rengaraj didn’t receive the support she needed, but she persisted and soon, she built a safe and loving home for women and children in desperate need of shelter and support. The girls and women living in the NGO for women have a place to make a real transformation in their lives, which is in complete contrast to feeling unwanted and mistreated by loved ones and strangers.
The girls and women at the home have a nickname for Vanitha – thaiamma which means mother in Tamil. This is what Vanitha Rengaraj has become for the thousands of women and children who have sought and received shelter, affection and a real purpose in life – at Sharanalayam.
Support Vanitha Rengaraj’s mission
But Vanitha Rengaraj is running out of funds and needs help to continue rescuing more girls and women with mental disabilities. To support Sharanalayam, you can donate here:
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Shirley has been in the development sector for over 10 years and is passionate about making a change in the world around her, including adopting dogs and writing to make a difference.
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