BENGALURU: A recent event held in Bengaluru brought together a group of individuals who shared their life experiences in a safe and supportive environment. The event was organised by Mind and Matter, an NGO that conducts various mental health awareness programmes across Karnataka. Founder Deepika Appaiah told TNIE that the response was encouraging, and awareness and participation have been steadily growing with each event.
“Throughout my observation, I have realised that people want to talk. Here, we feature ordinary people who want to share their stories. We are trying to build a strong community. I believe that through this session, people get the courage to speak more,” Appaiah said.
“Initially, in November 2022, we invited a few artists to talk about their life, and I personally invited a few people in Kodagu and conducted a few sessions. Gradually, I have seen great results,” she added.
Participating in the event is always “on first-come, first-served basis, but the person has to be over 18 years old. Then we call the participants for a chat, and each usually gets eight minutes”.
In all, 50 people, including the volunteers, participated this time, and of them, eight were speakers. Now, the NGO conducts two such events in a year; however, with response increasing, they could make it once every three months. “In future, we can even conduct a session once every two months,” she said.