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I am raising funds for SEVAC, an organization established in 1991 in Kolkata, India, for the treatment and rehabilitation of persons with mental illness. Their patients are either from low-income families, or in some cases abandoned by families, destitute and found either chained or begging outside places of worship or at public places.
SEVAC runs two psychiatric clinics, a 50 bedded mental health facility and a 50 bedded shelter home, and a Psychosocial Rehabilitation Centre known as ‘Clubhouse’. It is noteworthy that “Clubhouse” is an internationally accepted model which is being practiced in 32 countries across the world for facilitating the rehabilitation and mainstreaming of the persons with mental illness. SEVAC has introduced this model in India for the first time .
People with acute mental illness are admitted to their facility for crisis intervention. Once their condition stabilizes and their symptoms are controlled they are sent for rehabilitation either back to their families or shifted to the shelter home. SEVAC charges a nominal fee to those who can afford to pay, and to those who cannot, provides free treatment and shelter.
SEVAC is now under a major crisis, with outstanding borrowings of Rs. 25 lakhs (Rs. 25,00,000 or USD 40,000 approx.), which it has incurred to meet its running costs in the last one year. This amount needs to be repaid soon, else they may face closure of their facility. This means that they will no longer be able to provide treatment, food, medicines for their in-house destitute patients.
The hospital and other infrastructure of SEVAC have been built with contributions from various institutional and corporate donors over the years. Services of Doctors, Psychiatrists and Psychologists are mostly being provided pro-bono. Only operational costs, such as medicines, food, toiletries, treatment, linen, garments, services of the care-giving staff and overheads, have to be raised by SEVAC, of which 60% come from patients’ contributions. For the remaining 40% they are dependent on donations. Unfortunately, there are no government schemes/grants available for running such facilities, and most Corporates under CSR want to fund infrastructure or other tangibles. The last one year has been particularly tough for SEVAC, and they have been borrowing from suppliers to meet their costs.
I have known SEVAC since 2012, when my organization provided them with a Project grant for 3 years. I decided to help them out of the present crisis by appealing to my friends, family and the larger public to donate to a worthy cause. It does not matter how small or big the contribution is. What matters is that you contribute.
The hospital and other infrastructure of SEVAC have been built with contributions from various institutional and corporate donors over the years. Services of Doctors, Psychiatrists and Psychologists are mostly being provided pro-bono. Only operational costs, such as medicines, food, toiletries, treatment, linen, garments, services of the care-giving staff and overheads, have to be raised by SEVAC, of which 60% come from patients’ contributions. For the remaining 40% they are dependent on donations. Unfortunately, there are no government schemes/grants available for running such facilities, and most Corporates under CSR want to fund infrastructure or other tangibles. The last one year has been particularly tough for SEVAC, and they have been borrowing from suppliers to meet their costs.
I have known SEVAC since 2012, when my organization provided them with a Project grant for 3 years. I decided to help them out of the present crisis by appealing to my friends, family and the larger public to donate to a worthy cause. It does not matter how small or big the contribution is. What matters is that you contribute.
More details about SEVAC at Www.sevacmentalhealthcare.org
PAN # AAETS0482L
