In order to provide relief and support to persons with Mental Illness, Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment has launched the 24×7 Toll-Free Mental Health Rehabilitation Helpline “KIRAN” (1800-500-0019). The Helpline has been developed by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment. It was launched considering the increasing incidence of Mental Illness, particularly in the wake of COVID-19 Pandemic.
- Thaawarchand Gehlot also released the poster, brochure and resource book on the Helpline and also witnessed the live demonstration of Helpline.
Key People
Smt. Shakuntala D. Gamlin, Secretary, DEPwD was present on the occasion. A detailed PPT on the helpline was presented by Shri Prabodh Seth, Joint Secretary(JS), DEPwD.
Gist About the Helpline
i.General Info– It will offer mental health rehabilitation services. It functions as a lifeline to provide 1st stage advice, counseling. It is available 24*7 with the Technical Coordination of BSNL.
ii.Objective– Early screening, 1st aid, Mental well-being, Distress management, psychological crisis management, to provide psychological support, to promote positive behaviours, to prevent deviant behaviors, and referral to mental health experts.
iii.Beneficiaries– Individuals, families, Non-Governmental Organization(NGOs), Parent Associations, Professional Associations, Rehabilitation Institutes, Hospitals or anyone in need of support across the country. It will also be useful to the family members of persons with mental illness.
iv.Mental Health Issues– The helpline will resolve mental health issues that are related to the following namely, anxiety, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), depression, Panic Attack(s) Adjustment Disorders, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse, Post Traumatic Stress Disorders and the psychological issues & mental health emergencies induced by pandemic.
v.Institutions
25 Institutions including 8 National Institutes are involved in this Helpline. It is backed by 660 Clinical / Rehabilitation Psychologists and 668 Psychiatrists.
Helpline is being coordinated by– the National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities (NIEPMD), Chennai, TamilNadu and National Institute of Mental Health Rehabilitation (NIMHR), Sehore, Madhya Pradesh.
Professional support is provided by– The Indian Association of Clinical Psychologists (IACP), Indian Psychiatrists Association (IPA) and Indian Psychiatric Social Workers Association (IPSWA).
National Institutes– NIMHR; Deendayal Upadhyaya National Institute for Persons with Physical Disabilities(PDU-NIPPD), Delhi; National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities(NIEPID), Secunderabad and regional centres of NIEPID are involved in it
Composite Regional Centres (CRCs) that are involved as Helpline Centres are namely, CRC- Ahmedabad, CRC-Sundernagar among others
vi.Languages- 13 languages that are covered in the helpline are, Hindi, Assamese, Tamil, Marathi, Odia, Telugu, Malayalam, Gujarati, Punjabi, Kannada, Bengali, Urdu and English.
Recent Related News:
The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched MANODARPAN initiative of HRD Ministry virtually in New Delhi. The initiative provides psycho- social support to students, teachers and parents and addresses their issues related to mental health and emotional wellbeing.
- It is a part of the ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’, to strengthen human capital and increase productivity and initiatives in the education sector.
Constituency
Thaawarchand Gehlot, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment – Rajya Sabha (M.P)
