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Home Again – A housing with supportive services intervention for homeless persons with mental health issues experiencing long term care needs

Authored by: Smriti Vallath, Kamala Easwaran, Shoba Thomas, Sagaya Mary, Lakshmi Narasimhan, K.V.Kishore Kumar, Vaishnavi Jayakumar and Vandana Gopikumar Editing support: Shoba Thomas, Keshav Desiraju, Nisha Vinayak, Mrinalini Ravi, Vani Saraswathi, R.K.Radhakrishnan, Senthil Kumar, Ranjitha Gunasekaran, Ratna Mukherjee, and Pramila Manoj.

World Health Organisation highlights The Banyan’s ‘home again’ project

Banyan’s Home Again is one of the projects highlighted in the World Health Organisation’s recent publication, ‘Guidance on Community Mental Health Services: Promoting Person-Centred and Rights-Based Approaches’. The Guidance is a set of documents that provide information and support to all stakeholders who wish to develop or transform their mental…

‘Housing is important in rehabilitating mentally ill people’

The importance of shifting the approach from institutional care towards providing housing to mentally ill persons for better recovery and rehabilitation was stressed by the panelists who spoke at the Sundram Fasteners Lecture Series on ‘Preventing homelessness among persons with severe mental health issues.

January 25, 2022

In A First-Of-Its-Kind Initiative In Gujarat, NGOs Work With State Govt To Enable Rehabilitation Of Former Mental Health Patients

In September 2019, an extremely aggressive and uncooperative person was brought to the Hospital for Mental Health (HMH) in Ahmedabad by cops and Aadhaar Helpline from Behrampura. Aman (name changed) was paranoid about any person approaching him and refused to communicate with anyone. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia. With time…

Banyan co-founder gets global recognition

Vandana Gopikumar, co-founder of The Banyan, the non-governmental organisation working with people with mental illness, was recognised as one of the Heroines of Health for the year 2021 by Women in Global Health (WGH), a US-based global network promoting gender equality in health leadership.

OCTOBER 06, 2021

In A First-Of-Its-Kind Initiative In Gujarat, NGOs Work With State Govt To Enable Rehabilitation Of Former Mental Health Patients

In September 2019, an extremely aggressive and uncooperative person was brought to the Hospital for Mental Health (HMH) in Ahmedabad by cops and Aadhaar Helpline from Behrampura. Aman (name changed) was paranoid about any person approaching him and refused to communicate with anyone. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia. With time…

Mental healthcare to reach every nook and corner of Tamil Nadu

Mental healthcare is getting increasingly accessible in urban spaces. But people in rural areas, especially the poor and homeless, continue to live with little or no support. To change this, Banyan, an NGO for mental health, has joined hands with the Tamil Nadu government to help the homeless in 10…

Seeking a paradigm shift in mental health care

Persons with mental health conditions need a responsive care system that inspires hope and participation, without which their lives are empty. In many countries, persons with severe mental health conditions live in shackles in their homes, overcrowded hospitals, and even in prison. On the other hand, many persons with mental…

Man from Chennai shelter reunited with family in Bihar after 11 years

The unwavering dedication of The Banyan staff at a shelter intertwines with the remarkable journey of a man from Chennai. After going missing from his native village 11 years ago, he was finally reunited with his family in Bihar. The Banyan team rescued him six years ago and visited Bihar…

The Banyan turns the spotlight on art by people with mental health conditions

Preetha Mahadevan, an artist with bipolar disorder, shares that she found painting therapeutic. She finds the soothing colours and calming patterns in her abstract bursts soft during the depression. And during her manic episodes, she says she gravitates towards stories of communities and the environment. Her latest exhibition, currently displayed…

Maharashtra govt shifts 190 mentally ill patients to old age, beggars’ homes

Under pressure to comply with a Supreme Court (SC) order to rehabilitate homeless, mentally ill patients languishing in mental hospitals, the state government has decided to shift several to beggars’ home, apart from old-age homes and shelter homes for women, while observing that it lacks the infrastructure to accommodate so…

Mad Pride Parade: Reclaiming the Word ‘Mad’ on Mental Health Day

The word ‘mad’ is used to abuse, insult, taunt and to ostracise. It is used to forcibly bunch together an entire spectrum of mental illnesses, shun the individual who lives through the condition, and to deny much needed care. On World Mental Health Day 2019, The Banyan, a mental health…

First Mad Pride Parade puts focus on mental health issues

Over 600 people from different walks of life including survivors of mental illness, psychologists, students and professionals took part in India’s first ‘Mad Pride Parade’ held at Elliot’s beach on Thursday. The walk aims at educating the general public on mental health. It was organised by city-based metal health NGO,…

36% patients in mental health facilities stay over a year — way above ‘6-week requirement’

Hans Foundation survey finds 93.5% mental health patients never stepped out of hospital, 86.5% never had a visitor, 94.8% never visited anyone out of the hospital. A new survey of 43 mental health hospitals across India has found that 36.25% of their patients have been residing in the facilities for…

Enhancing Livelihoods

Fostering social inclusion through setting up robust social, economic and livelihoods support systems for persons with mental health issues and their caregivers Care and recovery are intersectoral Societal Complicity With awareness about mental health concerns growing, it becomes essential to protect the rights of people with mental illness, and promote…

Mental Asylum: Explore possibility of reintegrating cured people, SC tells Centre

New Delhi, Jul 26 (PTI) The Supreme Court Friday asked the Centre to explore the possibility for rehabilitation and reintegration of people who have recovered from mental illness and are fit to go home but are languishing in hospitals due to social stigma. Mere shifting of such persons to different…

Halfway homes should be unrestricted spaces: activists

How do you want a home to be? As officials are in the process of designing halfway homes, activists working in mental healthcare field and NGOs said due care should be taken in designing the physical structure and environment at halfway homes, which have to be unrestricted spaces. According to…

These seven students making it to top institutes is path-breaking! Here’s why

It is a time for revelry and celebration at The Banyan, an NGO, as seven children of parents with mental illness, from disadvantaged communities, have managed to gain admission into prestigious institutes in the city for graduate and postgraduate courses this year. “I am really proud,” said an ecstatic and…

Thanks to Banyan, police and govt. departments, Bipul to go back home

Bangladeshi man was lost on streets of city after wandering out of lodge It is sheer luck that 48-year-old Bangladeshi resident Bipul Deb with a spino cerebellar degenerative disorder is able to go home this weekend after spending a year in Chennai. His brother and cousin have arrived, firming up…

Miles for the mind

What happens when an avid bikers’ club takes a road trip with a mental health NGO to raise awareness It’s 8 am on a warm, weekend morning and a gentle breeze carries scents from the sea. The last thing you expect to hear, on OMR, is the roar of 44…

Chennai Royal Riders Motorcycle Club rides for mental health awareness

It’s 8 am on a warm, weekend morning and a gentle breeze carries scents from the sea. The last thing you expect to hear, on OMR, is the roar of 44 Royal Enfield engines revving up for a ride, curiously accompanied by a large yellow bus. But it’s not just…

Franchise is the voice that people with mental illness need

All citizens of India have the right to vote, although the Representation of the People Act, 1950, disqualifies a person who is "of unsound mind" and "stands so declared by a competent court". The archaic law holds no scientific value today. Mental health problems can affect anyone across economic classes,…

These homes are helping women with mental illness merge into society

Twenty five years after it began, The Banyan, a Chennai-based mental healthcare NGO, realised that it was home to a group of mentally ill women, doomed to long-term care and incarceration in an institution. Their families were not traceable, or if traced, did not want them. In a bold move,…

Compassion essential to handle mental illness

The Banyan, an NGO working in the area of mental health, celebrated its 25th anniversary on Saturday, along with its partners, supporters and well-wishers. At the event, Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan said though the State government had formulated schemes in handling people with mental illnesses, working with compassion towards those…

The art of acceptance: The Banyan founders on its silver anniversary

The Banyan, an NGO that takes in, and provides treatment to, mentally ill homeless people, has turned 25 this year. Its founders recount how the experience has changed them When you ask the founders of The Banyan, Vandana Gopikumar and Vaishnavi Jayakumar, about their experience in the past 25 years,…

Vandana Gopakumar and Vaishnavi Jayakumar: Women who built a home for the mentally challenged

andana was crying. She and her family were visiting the Guruvayur temple in Kerala for the early morning darshan. She was ravenous, but her parents had told her that she could eat only after the darshan. When they approached the tiny inner sanctum of the temple, a priest quietly handed…

35 years later, woman reunites with her mom

The last one week, Sonia felt, has almost made up for all the adversity she has faced for 40 years of her life. All it took was one sweeping moment of homecoming. Born Lakshmi, The Banyan resident has been reunited with her mother after 35 years, and the events that…

Book lays bare tales of triumph over menta ..

Shruti Haasan has been away for a while, and it has been a well warranted time-off. She calls it a favour she has done herself – one that has involved her to painstakingly become answerable just to herself, no one else, one day at a time. “The media said I…

Government-NGO partnership key to better odds for mentally ill persons: Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan

Partnerships between governments and NGOs were the key to better the odds for persons living with mental illness, said Tamil Nadu Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan at Chennai on Saturday The health secretary was speaking at an event marking the 25th anniversary of The Banyan, a Chennai-based NGO working on issues…

Changemaker Approaches to Mental Health

How might we own our well-being and help create a culture the nurtures the whole-self? by Amy Badiani, editing and contributions by Chris Underhill, Lakshmi Narasimhan, Simone Honikman, Vandana Gopikumar How many people in your daily life — you, your family, friends, and coworkers — may be living with mental…

Woman from Kolar reunited with family after nine years

Nine years after running away from her family, a 38-year-old was finally reunited with her kin in Karnataka on Saturday, thanks to the efforts by a city-based organisation and local police personnel from the neighboring state. Vijaya with her family and members of Little Hearts on Saturday Vijaya with her…

Free breast alteration surgery in India’s Tamil Nadu: Is there a case for public funding?

Lakshmi Narasimhan and Vandana Gopikumar Recently, the state government of Tamil Nadu, India, announced that breast alteration surgery would now be free for women from low income backgrounds through the plastic surgery unit at Stanley hospital, a publicly funded tertiary care centre. The hospital, which had reportedly already been performing…

Govt body to monitor mental healthcare

One year after the Centre passed the Mental Health Care Act in 2017, it has finally constituted the Central Mental Health Authority (CMHA) to monitor and regulate all mental health institutions in the country. The new body has widened representation of members, including mental health service users, caregivers, mental health…

These Kerala rehabilitation homes help people with mental illness integrate into society

People who have recovered from mental illness now have a chance to lead a regular life thanks to the newly opened rehabilitation homes in Kerala. Named 'Snehakkoodu’ (home of love), the rehabilitation homes have been set up by the state department of health’s Arogya Keralam project in association with The…

Lessons for a leader in health to be ahead of curve

Tamil Nadu has set the standard for many other states in healthcare. It has brought down maternal and child mortality rates, improved sanitation and stabilised malnutrition. Besides being a medical hub with state-of- the-art facilities in corporate hospitals, the state has established several public hospitals that provide treatment, including organ…

How an NGO is paving new ground in mental healthcare

Vandana Gopikumar, who along with Vaishnavi Jayakumar founded The Banyan and The Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health, will receive the Penn Nursing Renfield Foundation Award for Global Women’s Health, on March 21, 2018. The award, which carries a $100,000 cash prize, is awarded for her work in helping…

Final Note on MH Agenda for NHM

In recent years, mental health has gained prominence as a public health priority with mental disorders accounting for 13% of years lost due to disease worldwide. The situation is particularly stark in low and medium income countries such as India with 90% of people with mental health issues not receiving…

THF Long stay in India 2018-19

Responsive mental health systems to address the poverty, homelessness and mental illness nexus The Banyan experience from India

Mental health has gained prominence as a global public health priority in the recent years. Mental disorders account for nearly 13% of the global disease burden according to one estimate [1], and are responsible for 37% of healthy years lost due to disease among non-communicable diseases [2]. Despite the development…

Reliving Replaying Lived Experiences Through Audit

Voice hearing or auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) are a core symptom of psychosis in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5th ed. [DSM 5; (1)]. A cross cultural prevalence study found that the 1-year prevalence of AVHs was 74% (2). Although hallucinations can be positive in nature, they are…

Persistent, complex and unresolved issues Indian discourse on mental ill health and homelessness

Challenges in the provision, accessibility and corresponding treatment gaps in mental health services in India and other low- and middle-income countries have been the subject of considerable discussion in recent times. Moving away from frequently acknowledged macro concerns, a few recurring, persistent problems remain insufficiently analysed. The chapter aims to…

Comment on The Mental Health Act 1987 Quo Vadimus

Pratima Murthy has given an accurate summary of discussions, over the past several decades, in the field of mental health legislation and public policy (1). As she indicates, until recently, the mental health sector was marked by lethargy and lack of commitment. Following the initiation of the United Nations Convention…

How centres of faith can help provide better mental healthcare in India

Not just clinical models, values and approaches in healthcare also need to be scaled up, say mental health experts. The calming melody of the nadaswaram interspersed with the beat of the mridangamrose from outside the sanctum sanctorum of Vishnu in the famous temple dedicated to the Hindu god in Gunaseelam,…

Mimicking Family like Attributes to Enable a State of Personal Recovery for Persons with Mental Illness in Institutional Care Settings

The co-occurrence of mental ill health and homelessness represents a persistent and complex social problem. Persons affected by this phenomenon suffer many losses that result in a compromised quality of life. Homeless persons living with a mental illness experience multiple deprivations and are susceptible to further vulnerabilities such as substance…

The Banyan Covid Response Report

The Banyan Covid Response Report

The Banyan Newsletter

The Banyan Newsletter March 2022

The Banyan Newsletter

The Banyan Newsletter December 2022

The Banyan – WHO Report

PAUL HAMLYN FOUNDATION & THE BANYAN REPORT 2016 – 2022

Hans Longstay Report – 2019

IMPACT REPORT 2016 -2022

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