Mental health is a level of psychological well-being, or an absence of a mental disorder; it is the “psychological state of someone who is functioning at a satisfactory level of emotional and behavioural adjustment”.
Mental Health
It is quite heart breaking that the society apprehends the mentally ill persons to be a burden. People do not utilize their potentialities creatively. Some live their whole lives within the four walls of their dark rooms. They remain secluded from the society and accept an inactive lifestyle. The community at large is still hesitant in accepting such persons into its fold. In such scenario, the existing stigma against mental illness create more hurdles for an effective rehabilitation of the mentally ill in our country.
Mental illness has become a common problem across the world. In India the issue becomes more complex due to huge population where a large number of mentally ill are from low income families. Further the rising cost of medical care and living expenses make mental health care a huge task for the society.
In such a setting, Greeshma Foundation has identified the enormous need of catering to the mental health care needs of the poor in Kerala, and established a Mental Health Care Centre in 2015 that is committed to provide the scientific mental health care, in a respectful way, at free of cost and in a caring environment using all the latest modalities of mental treatment.
Our Story
Greeshma Foundation is a Non-governmental voluntary organization in Alappuzha, registered as a public charitable trust with Reg. No.97/04/2015. The main objective of this organization is to provide mental health care, medical treatment and rehabilitation services to the poor and marginalized people in Kerala. This centre works in association with Mental Health Action Trust (MHAT) Calicut, renowned mental health organization with a concept of treatment driven by community based volunteers http://mhatkerala.org
Vision
Our vision is to provide better mental health solutions to the society and to create an awareness for ending the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness and to consider mental illness with same dignity as that of other illnesses, so that the quality of the life of mentally ill persons may be enhanced in a healthy environment.
Mission
Our mission is to mobilize resources from the community and the government by formulating and implementing different strategies and activities so that a self-sustainable and financially viable model is developed for treatment and rehabilitation for the poor mentally ill persons in our society.
Objectives
- Aimed at rehabilitation & training for independent living, as well as counseling for them and their families to facilitate reintegration with the family/society and to reduce degree of disability.
- Enabling persons with mental disabilities to reach and maintain their optimal, intellectual, psychiatric or social functional levels.
- Thrive for ending stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness, to consider mental illness with same dignity as that of other illnesses.
- No discrimination against any person or group of persons on the grounds of sex, colour, religion, caste or creed.
The Methodology
- Identify persons with mental health problems from low income families in our society.
- Free Medical advice/treatment relating to their illness.
- Training of community volunteer workers for identification of persons with mental disorders from low income families.
- Operating periodic mental health OP clinics to provide free medical care to the identified mentally ill.
- Increasing awareness of mental health problems in the population, using public friendly methods.
- Training the community workers to implement simple psychosocial rehabilitation measures, particularly the mobilisation of locally available resources.
- Networking with the government departments other medical / social service organisations for the purpose of setting up a self-sustainable and financially viable model for treatment and rehabilitation for the mentally ill from poor families.