Tackling mental health in India

According to WHO, 7.2% of the Indian population suffers from critical mental illness and 43% have experienced bouts of mental illness. Despite this, there is alarming ignorance around mental wellbeing. Most mental health patients are neglected or ignored, not receiving proper treatment and are often disowned by their families and stigmatised by society.

With limited specialized healthcare support, it is estimated there are currently 200 million people awaiting treatment, which is expensive and out of reach to many of them, especially those from lower economic backgrounds. Due the COVID 19 pandemic, the few organizations who do work with mentally-ill patients are full to capacity and having to turn patients away with many now being found living on the streets.

The number of social workers and organisations working to address these mental health issues are scarce. There is a need of 35,000 psychiatric social workers against the existing 900 working in the field. Similarly there is a need of 30,000 nurses required against 1,500 available to work for these patients.

Snehalaya provides shelter and treatment to all, especially those that others turn away. We provide psychological support and counselling through 27 projects for women and child empowerment, including victims of violence, sexual abuse and trafficking and their children, people living with HIV/AIDS and slum dwellers, Almost all of our beneficiaries have experienced a major trauma that needs to be addressed through counselling otherwise it will have a lasting effect on their lives leading to relationship issues, exploitation, crime, prostitution and more. In 2020, in response to demand increased by the COVID pandemic, we launched a new project specifically to identify and help those left to roam the streets, with a view to reuniting them with their families or providing them with support to live independently.

Since 1989, we have worked with around 3 lakh women, children and vulnerable men to improve their lives through counseling and other support. Since December 2020, we have rescued 48 women and men suffering with mental health issues and removed them from living on the streets, of these 35 have been successfully treated, rehabilitated and returned to their families. In many cases their families have been searching for them, some for many years and seeing them reunited with our patients who are welcomed back to their lives is amazing. We aim to shelter and rehabilitatearound 100+ patients annually in our dedicated mental health facility and continue to support another 15,000 traumatised and vulnerable people through our other projects.