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While we were all battling COVID-19 on the outside, many others were fighting a much silent but virulent battle within themselves. COVID-19 induced lockdown surely threatened our physical health and wellbeing, but at the same time, it also put a lot of mental stress on all of us. Be it because of financial and economic challenges or just because of the mere fact of being confined to the four walls of our houses. During the latter half of the pandemic, Mental Health emerged as an equally important challenge as the Physical one. But one of the biggest challenges when it comes to Mental Health in India is the stigma. Even in the 21st Century, most of us don’t understand or acknowledge Mental Health as a concern.
Understanding the challenge posed by mental health and its impact among teenagers and youngsters; Mansi Rai – a Class 12 student from DPS Gautam Buddh Nagar decided to destigmatize mental illness. She launched "Teens Together Foundation” a group that works for raising awareness around mental health issues. They highlight and share the challenges and concerns of youngsters and spread awareness about them.
Her Inspiration
Typically, you don’t expect teenagers to give much attention to Mental Health, let alone launch an organization to spread awareness about it. But for Mansi, the inspiration to launch "Teens Together Foundation” came from her own personal battle with depression. Talking about why she felt that Mental Health needed attention, she says “My journey with mental health issues such as depression/self-harm tendencies and how I got through it led me to start my own Youth Organization for raising mental health awareness to help people see it in a new light and understand the varied spectrum of mental health and mental illnesses.”
She further adds that for most youngsters, fighting depression and anxiety is a silent battle about which they can’t talk to anyone. Learning from her battle and journey, she decided to encourage others to speak up and seek help if needed, and learn how to cope with mental health issues in a healthy manner.
Initiatives and Outcome
Online Platforms for Mental Health Awareness: As part of Teens Together Foundation, Mansi has set up a blog, providing online resources such as webinars with professionals and organizations like Rotary International, speaking at events like Manthan - Nation-wide Educators’ Dialogue, starting an online peer support community and campaign on Instagram to spread mental awareness.
Click Here to Visit Teens Together Foundation Website
Speak UP: Mansi believes that the stigma around mental health can be reduced only if we decide to SPEAK UP and support others. To help others garner the courage to speak up and share their stories of struggles and victories, she launched the Speak UP initiative as part of the Teens Together Foundation. Students who are suffering from mental health issues and do not have anyone to speak to can share their stories with her via mail or Instagram DMs. Their story is then shared online to help them find an outlet while also helping others to learn from it.
Teens Together School Clubs: Mansi along with a team of experts helps schools set up Teens Togetherclub, where students can come together to share their concerns around mental health. These clubs also regularly organize on-campus awareness activities, live sessions, peer support groups, regular mental health check-ins, Mental Health Day, informative and engaging webinars and discussions, and others to help spread awareness among students about mental health challenges and how to deal with them. She and her team set up various student-run Teens Together clubs in schools in Delhi and Noida such as DPS GBN, BGSIPS, and are in talks with several other schools.
Volunteer Programs: The group also has launched volunteer programmes aimed at developing a conducive environment in schools and colleges to initiate a discussion on Mental Health. The volunteers use their skills in writing, speaking, designing, and preparing awareness material to contribute to the cause of mental health awareness.
Authored Book on Duality of Human Nature
She recently achieved her life-long dream and published a book named - Toffee and Coffee. The hard copy and e-book are available on platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, Barnes & Noble, etc. The book is framed in a way to design contrast between the duality of human nature and tell others that while negative emotions are prevalent in our lives, positive emotions are present too.
Click Here to Find Link Mansi’s Book - Toffee And Coffee
Mansi Rai is a finalist for Most Socially Relevant Initiative Award Because… Starting an organization from scratch, especially during the pandemic as an 11th grader, takes a lot of grit and determination. Ultimately, what makes the initiative stand out is the fact that it is for teenagers, by teenagers. Her foundation has impacted thousands of lives. Mansi strongly believes that it is only by standing together, and helping each other that we can take a step towards destigmatizing mental health.
To Reach the Information Dossier Shared by Mansi Rai Click Here.