Platform to Promote Awareness and Encourage Best Practices inthe Realm of Mental Health(Attn.editors: The following press release comes to youunder an arrangement with PRNewswire. PTI takes noeditorial responsibility for the same).
Harsh Mariwala Launches Mariwala Health Initiative - an OnlinePlatform to Promote Awareness and Encourage Best Practices inthe Realm of Mental Health MUMBAI, October 10, 2017/PRNewswire/ -- Mariwala HealthInitiative (MHI) aims to create a holistic and universallyaccessible mental health ecosystem in India, by aiding a widevariety of mental health services for people in need acrossthe country, using multiple delivery formats and innovations Mariwala Health Initiative (MHI), a philanthropicinitiative founded by Harsh Mariwala, focusing on mentalhealth, has launched its websitewww.mariwalahealthinitiative.org on World Mental Health Day,today. The MHI website will be an effective portal for sharinginformation and stories about mental health innovations,services, advocacy, and expertise in India.
Mariwala Health Initiative (MHI) is a funding agency forinnovative and inclusive mental health initiatives, especiallythose that are committed to making mental well-beingaccessible to the most marginalized persons and communities.
Through prioritization of such projects, MHI aims at creatingan understanding of mental health that goes beyond narrowmedical definitions and signals a shift towards inclusive,holistic, and empathetic programs. MHI has partnered withorganizations that have a comprehensive approach to mentalhealth, and are invested in using methodologies aimed atcreating a well-rounded mental health ecosystem.
As an online platform, www.mariwalahealthinitiative.org isenvisaged as a space to collaborate with stakeholders, engagewith current debates in the field of mental health, andshowcase best practices for addressing mental health and well-being by highlighting the work of our grantee-partners. Itaspires to be a medium bringing together diverse sections, andlinking policy makers with mental health experts, serviceproviders and academics. The website explains MHI's grant-making process for potential partners, while hosting a sectionfor academic and research-based writing around mental health.
It aims to offer a 'big picture' perspective on mental healthin India, using an intersectional approach to address thecomplexities in social relationships and contexts that affectan individual's mental health and well-being.
MHI's work is grounded in rights-based, progressive andempathetic mental health advocacy that acknowledges andaddresses the multiple vulnerabilities wrought bydiscriminations arising out of gender, class, caste andreligious identities, physical and intellectual disabilities,sexual identities and orientations, besides the powerstructures that prevail in societies, institutions, andfamilies.
At present, MHI is the principal funder for iCALL, apsychosocial helpline that offers counselling services bytelephone and email to individuals in psychosocial distress,as well as for Bapu Trust's program 'Seher' that linksdevelopment, disabilities, communities, and mental healthconcerns. MHI is also a joint funder for Atmiyata, aninitiative of the Centre for Mental Health Law & Policy of theIndian Law Society, Pune, a community-based mental healthintervention focused on promoting wellness and reducingdistress through community volunteers in rural India. Amongother projects, MHI partially supports the work of Anjali, amental health rights organization based in West Bengal.
"There is an acute lack of awareness when it comes tomental health in India. The availability of services offeredtoday urgently needs an overhaul, keeping in mindaffordability and accessibility. With this in mind, we havelaunched the Mariwala Health Initiative to support and promoteinnovative and scalable mental health provisions in order toprovide quality services to people across India," - HarshMariwala, Founder, Mariwala Health Initiative & Chairman,Marico Ltd.
"MHI is a dedicated effort to change conversations aroundmental health in India. We approach mental health through arights based perspective, centering the agency and rights ofthe individual. This also means we support mental healthprovisions for marginalised populations who cannot accessservices and are being left out of mainstream mental healthnarratives," - Rajvi Mariwala, Director, Mariwala HealthInitiative.
"MHI takes into account the standpoint of the marginalized.
The margins provide critical counter-narratives to anydominant norm. The mental health field needs to listen andlearn from these counter- narratives," - Shruti Chakravarty,Chief Advisor, Mariwala Health InitiativeFor more details about Mariwala Health Initiative (MHI),please visit: www.mariwalahealthinitiative.orgAbout Mariwala Health Initiative: Mariwala Health Initiative (MHI) is the leading fundingagency for innovative and inclusive mental health initiatives,especially those which are committed to making mental well-being accessible to the most marginalized. Through ourprioritization of such projects we aim at creating a 'bigpicture' of mental health, one that expands on narrow medicaldefinitions, and signals a shift towards inclusive, holistic,and empathetic programs. We have partnered with organizationsthat have a comprehensive approach to mental health, and areinvested in using innovative methodologies aimed at creating awell-rounded mental health ecosystem.
For media queries, please reach out to:Parigya Sharma+91-9582098686parigya.sharma@mariwalahealthinitiative.orgBhakti Dalal+91-9819118807bhakti.p.dalal@gmail.comIndependent Communications Consultant, BDCCSource: Mariwala Health Initiative (MHI)PRNewswireOSS.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.