Don Bosco Degree College Golaghat

According to the Rights of Persons with Disability Act, 2016, mental illness or mental disorder is considered a disability impairing reality acceptance or routine life. Due to the serious concern of mental health in the Thirukazhukundram block, STEPS organization took efforts to create mental disability awareness among the self-help group (SHG) women leaders, the major players in family and society who became the mental health ambassadors in the community to identify mentally ill persons for further support. During October 2022, a basic training on “Mental health and well-being” was aimed to increase awareness on mental disability among SHG leaders. 207 SHG leaders were trained from 10 Panchayats of Thirukazhukundram block. Based on the training, an impact assessment was made among the randomly selected 50 SHG leaders to understand their knowledge on mental health and their approach towards mental illness. The training was found to be very helpful not only in identifying the mental health issues of others but their personal knowledge on the rights of mental health persons increased among SHG women leaders who have started helping people with stress. Hence, the assessment shows that similar training should be given to other SHG leaders in the block for further reach due to its meaningful impact.

Key words: Mental Health, Mental Disability, Self-Help Group, Training and Knowledge