Empowering Rural Communities: Mental Health Care Initiatives

According to The Lancet, one in seven Indians experience mental disorders, regardless of age, gender and socio-economic backgrounds. In rural areas, where 70% of the population lives, accessing mental healthcare is challenging. This lack of access not only affects their well-being but also places severe economic strain on the families. Additionally, the lack of awareness and high stigma surrounding mental illness isolates those in need of support and treatment for mental disorders.

Objective and Implementation

LiveLoveLaugh launched its rural program – Community Mental Health Program (CMHP) – in 2016 to improve and strengthen the mental healthcare ecosystem in rural geographies with a holistic approach.

This approach is based on three key elements:

Awareness: We spread awareness through activities like street plays, wall paintings, and consistent training for frontline workers in mental healthcare.
Accessibility: We provide persons with mental illness and their caregivers access to psychiatric treatment, psychosocial support, and rehabilitation in their villages.
Affordability: While the treatment provided is free of cost, we also connect beneficiaries to government schemes making mental healthcare affordable.

The Community Mental Health Program drives clinical improvement, socio-economic progress, and community ownership to ensure holistic mental health care for persons with mental illness and their caregivers.

A crucial aspect of the program involves prioritizing caregivers by providing them with training to enhance their caregiving abilities, addressing their health needs, and helping them become financially independent to support their families.

Currently the program is operational in -

Mysore, Belgavi Gulbarga & Bidar districts in Karnataka
Koraput, Cuttack, Rayagada, Ganjam, Puri, Malkangiri Districts, Odisha
Madurai & Theni districts, Tamil Nadu
Idukki district, Kerala
Chhindwara district, Madhya Pradesh
NTR & Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh

What makes the program sustainable?

LiveLoveLaugh’s rural program aims to support persons with mental illness and their caregivers through an integrated and sustainable model of mental healthcare delivery. Through a carefully structured framework, various stakeholder groups are formed and trained to support communities. Caregiver groups are formed at the village level, federation groups at the block level, and parent champion groups at the taluk and district level.

These support groups, including ASHA workers and community volunteers, are equipped with the knowledge and skills required to become advocates for mental health awareness. ASHA workers are also trained to identify and support persons with mental illness. All the stakeholders are empowered to carry forward the program's reach and effectiveness within the communities.

As the groups get proficient and self-reliant over time, LLL's community mental health program becomes a self-sustaining model that thrives on community ownership and empowerment for mental health support.

The Way Forward

As the rural program evolves into LiveLoveLaugh’s flagship initiative aimed at bringing about an effective change in rural India’s mental healthcare capabilities, the plan is to scale to more geographies by partnering with grassroots organizations. The expansion is rooted in LLL’s commitment to ensuring that mental healthcare is accessible and affordable to all.

Empowering Rural Communities: Mental Health Care Initiatives

Objective and Implementation

What makes the program sustainable?

The Way Forward

Since Launch In 2016

Stories of Hope

Implementation Partners