Mpower, the Aditya Birla Education Trust organisation for mental health in India, launched a campaign this World Mental Health Day ‘SunoDekhoKaho’, which encourages people to be aware about their surroundings and speak up if they see someone in need of help.
In line with this campaign, Mpower has partnered with UnErase, a community for promoting and producing spoken word poetry to launch three powerful videos depicting the state of mental health in India.
Issued in Public Interest, the #SunoDekhoKaho campaign draws attention to a serious concern in society presently – lack of awareness about mental health. In the video-series, each of the three videos has an artist sharing personal stories and experiences surrounding mental health concerns and the stigmas around them.
The #SunoDekhoKaho campaign will be present through the month of October across social media and digital platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The campaign invites everyone to take the pledge to be more aware about their surroundings and assist those who need help.
Speaking on the launch of this campaign, Neerja Birla, Founder and Chairperson, Mpower, said, We have become the country with the highest number of suicides in the world. 25% of our adolescents are dealing with depression, 11% of them are dealing with substance abuse and addiction, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. Children and adolescents are vulnerable as they undergo through the physical and emotional challenges of growing up, and that too in environments that are unequipped to provide support for the mental health issues that they go through. It is important to be aware and look out for the possible signs of mental health concerns, to #SunoDekhoKaho and pledge for a stigma-free society.”
The other two UnErase videos will be released on October 16 and 24, 2018.
Talking about the same, Qyuki creator UnErase Poetry’s founder, Simar Singh, shares, “This initiative is extremely important to us, the dialogue to create more awareness around mental illnesses to stamp out stigmas in society has been long due. Amandeep’s story is empowering and moving, Hasan’s music is soothing and captivating, this collaboration overall is just perfect for all of us.”
Mpower is a movement that endeavours to create awareness in order to stamp out the stigma associated with mental health. Mpower, through its centres of excellence, advocates prevention, fosters education and provides world-class holistic services to individuals dealing with mental health disorders, as well as to their families and caregivers. Moving towards creating a society where people with mental health concerns and their caregivers receive professional support, care and acceptance to facilitate their recovery, without facing discrimination or shame.
The video:
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