Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Workshop on Dial 100 Project

CHENNAI: Unable to face her mother’s death, Subha* wandered from her home and came to Chennai, where she was rescued.

After undergoing treatment at the Institute of Mental Health, she came to The Banyan, a non-governmental organisation that works with destitute, mentally ill women.

She now does a variety of jobs, including working at a coffee machine and making pickles.

Around five per cent of India’s population suffers from common mental illnesses and one per cent suffers from severe mental illnesses, said Dr. Nimesh Desai, head of the Department of Psychiatry at the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences, Delhi. He stressed the need for not treating mental illnesses as a monolith, when it came to providing care or drafting policy.

He was speaking at a two-day national workshop on ‘The Dial 100 Project – a model of Public Private Partnership’ organised by The Banyan in collaboration with the Ministry of Empowerment and Social Justice and the Rangoonwala Foundation, which began here on Friday.

Persons with mental illnesses who are homeless are particularly vulnerable, said Kanimozhi, Member of Parliament.

She said many women with mental illnesses who were rescued were found to be pregnant. Some were found to be HIV positive. Men with mental illnesses were found to be physically abused.

This is because of lack of awareness and society’s refusal to accept issues of mental health, she said. According to Vandana Gopikumar, founder of the Banyan, there are around four lakh mentally ill persons who are wandering in the country. The Banyan had conceived a helpline, Dial 100, which works on public-private partnership model to assist such persons.

*Name changed to protect identity

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