Many persons living with a mental illness (PLMI) spend crucial years struggling with the condition and its impact on their lives and those of their families. Most withdraw and isolate themselves, wherein their lives are disrupted drastically, and they lose time, energy and motivation to realise their potential and enjoy a meaningful life in society. They lose hope, feel worthless and have the constant feeling of not fitting in.
The Sambandh Community Integration Centre (CIC) is a Resource Centre designed to support people living with mental illness to regain their self-worth and live a meaningful life within society. While helping in the important work of running the Centre, members (persons living with mental illness, who engage with us) also build their confidence and skills to help achieve individual success.
CIC is the Central Hub from which all other programmes extend into the community.
One trustee astutely called CIC “the “motherboard” of Sambandh Mental Health, providing a rich culture and constant source of encouragement and nourishment for this rewarding but challenging work.
The heart of our organization, the CIC offers a welcoming, respectful and collaborative environment, and provide pre-vocational training, employment and educational supports, wellness activities and peer support. The training for our unique Recovery Model based on latest research, and participation with members at CIC prepares our team for our different programmes.
Our Programmes
For People living with mental illness in Recovery
Community Integration Centre (CIC):
A day programme designed to help persons living with mental illness (PLMI) regain their self-worth and live a meaningful life within society.
The CIC is operational in Gurugram in collaboration with the Haryana Government and is part of the District Mental Health Programme (DMHP).
It is a free-of-cost Recovery programme for adults living with psychosis, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
Leisure Activities:
All work and no play can make anyone dull and grey. Hence, apart from participating in the operations of the Centre or in villages. PLMI are supported to venture out into communities, watch movies, shopping, planting trees and more.
We enjoy these as a community.
Outreach:
Many times people living with mental illness are not willing to come out and be a part of a group. However, they express the need for support and we support them through home visits, meeting in the community or via the telephone
It is a paid programme for adults living with all mental illnesses
Sheltered Accommodation (Group Home):
Sambandh Group home provides safe accommodation in a home like setting.
The goal is to promote independence while having access to accommodation and flexible supports. Residents, program officers, live-in staff work together to set the operational guidelines of the home.
Focus is on individual supports and goal setting in the areas of the person's interests and for community living, within the home and the larger community. Peer support and problem solving are key components of such an environment.
For Families and Caregivers
Family Self-Help Groups (FSHG):
Families face unique challenges caring for their loved ones living with mental illness. Sambandh Family Self-Help groups meet monthly at the CIC/ Civil Hospital and the villages, where families share their experiences and support each other to better understand mental illness and its effects.
The groups also work together towards finding solutions for supporting their loved ones in recovery and self-care
Family Counseling:
The feeling of guilt, shame and a sense of hopelessness among families, where a loved one is living with mental illness, are common. They undergo stress at multiple levels; Sambandh extends its services to families to be able to cope with stress and burnout.
Other Programmes
Awareness Programme:
There is a lot of stigma and myths attached to mental illness and this is one of the key reasons, why it remains hidden. To address this, Sambandh organizes awareness programmes in the form of street plays, talks, workshops and distribution of materials. These take place in schools, universities, villages, primary health centres, Aganwadi centres, police stations, temples, dargahs and the community as a whole.
Community Mental Health Programme in Villages:
Late 2016, the community mental health programme - ‘The Village Project’ came into being. This project takes the Recovery Programme to hitherto, relatively untouched areas, nearby villages, and makes it accessible to the local people.
This programme has been possible with the support of MPS Limited.
Sambandh carried all its experience and learning to four villages in and around Gurugram - Gurgaon Gaon, Basai (including Basai Enclave and Saraswati Enclave), Gandhi Nagar (including Shivji Park and Sakti Park) and Jharsa, with very fruitful results.
Project Recovery:
The New Mental Health Care Act 2017 is a paradigm shift from a medical and clinical approach in psychiatry to include aspects of Social and Personal Recovery as crucial components for reintegration of people into the society. This includes creating community support persons with mental illness and their families.
Sambandh expanded their partnership with the Haryana Government to implement Community Mental Health Services in conjunction with District Mental Health Program (DMHP) in other districts of Haryana.
Sambandh has initiated Family support groups in Panchkula and Faridabad and held meetings with and training sessions for DMHP teams in the 21 districts of Haryana.