CHENNAI: The present government is working on a state-wide policy for homeless persons with mental health issues, said J Radhakrishnan, secretary of the food and cooperation department on Friday. “This is being done with aid from NGOs to come up with a holistic approach. We need an empathetic approach towards mental health issues,” he said.
He was speaking at an event where the Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health launched ‘the Centre for Transdisciplinary Research’, on Saturday. This centre will work on a transdisciplinary research approach to mental health, based on the belief that knowledge should be created by all stakeholders: people with lived experience, practitioners, and policy-makers.
This was launched with Vrije Universiteit, through the Athena Institute of Life Sciences, during the third international conference on mental health and inclusive development. Speaking on ‘TN’s vision for mental health Pedagogy’, MP MK Kanimozhi said she is proud TN was involved in developing an approach toward mental health issues. “During the 1980s, Kalaingar brought mental health support to GHs in districts. It was the first time it was brought outside mental health institutions,” she said.