Annual Report

ANNUAL REPORT A P R I L 2 0 1 6 - M A R C H 2 0 1 7 Vision An inclusive and humane world that promotes capabilities, equity and justice. Mission Enabling access to health and mental health care for persons living in poverty and homelessness through comprehensive and creative clinical and social care approaches embedded in a well-being paradigm. The needs of those who live in the margins are our collective responsibility. 0 1 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 7 MESSAGE FROM CHAIRPERSON A SANKARANARAYANAN A couple of years ago we discussed The Banyan and The Banyan Academy of organisational sustainability. How more Leadership in Mental Health (BALM), and more people are taking ownership of engages with the SMT on a monthly basis The Banyan vision, and how we are moving and provides direction and inputs on more beyond a founders-led organisation. How operational matters – problem solving the young, passionate and committed support, financial queries, and overall professionals that form the Senior management related inputs. This ensures a Management Team (SMT) drive and grow seamless link between strategy (at the the services we deliver to vulnerable board level) and operations (percolating groups. How our most engaged and down to SMT level). All major decisions are committed Board of Directors and routed through the board, and passed Executive Committee (EC) drive strategy, through the SMT and EC for board ensure our vision stays on track and look approval. In the same vein, all decisions on at governance. future strategy taken at board meetings are operationalised through the SMT in The Banyan is lucky to have a board with conjunction with teams. I am grateful for extremely engaged and committed the focus of the Board and the EC that members. All board members have an in- helps us stay on track. depth understanding of the programmes, are fully aware of the funding status, and I am also grateful to our most generous know the teams well. The increased donors, our volunteers and our staff, engagement is largely routed through the particularly to some of the personal Senior Management Team (SMT), with the assistants, healthcare workers, and board splitting itself into several smaller community mobilisers who have all been committees to work with each project through immense distress themselves, and head on specific requirements. For are now the backbone of the organisation. instance on fundraising, on new asset Without you, none of this would have been creation (the building committee), possible. Thank you for believing in our programme management and workflow vision and partnering with us to address processes, and strategy and quality audits. distress and restore the hope, dignity and rights of some of the most marginalised The empowered Executive Committee and vulnerable. (EC), that has some board members from 0 2 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 7 MESSAGE FROM FOUNDERS VANDANA GOPIKUMAR AND VAISHNAVI JAYAKUMAR The Banyan is closing in on a quarter of a concepts of crisis care, rehabilitation and century and life only gets more exciting, long-term care. We explored the link challenging and fulfilling every year. between homelessness and mental illness, Change and growth has been a constant the shortcomings of our healthcare because we keep the vulnerable population system, our social mores and structures we serve as our central focus and have that stigmatise and make illnesses, and from them learnt the importance of grit, indeed people, invisible. introspection, courage and empathy. At The Banyan we have always served persons Every year we grew, or sometimes fine- with illness whose social context, poverty tuned, or scaled down our ideas and traps and perpetual exposure to structural approaches based on the lived experiences barriers propelled them into a downward of people we serve. Over the last few years spiral of distress, hopelessness, and often we have seen them actively shape, homelessness, and withdrawal from life. participate in, or even run some of these Those whom we serve, the consumers of programs, drawing on their personal our services, are at the heart of our histories as people who nearly slipped strategy, and we look at their needs and through the cracks, and as active lifetimes in entirety and build the best consumers of mental health services. Our solutions, processes and frameworks to inclusive community-living projects are a help them rebuild their lives, take control prime example of this and you can read of their destinies and stay functioning more about it later in the report. members of society. In early 2017, in a most encouraging turn of While we started with a humanistic events, Parliament passed the new Mental response to the tragedy of a woman lost, Health Care Act. While no legislation is ill, befuddled, helpless, and homeless, perfect, this Act is far more pro-rights and everything we did was aimed at pro-poor than the older Act it replaced, understanding her crisis – why did she get and does a lot more to put people with there, how best could she heal, stay well mental illness at the heart of the issue. A and regain her rightful place in her family, little later the Supreme Court issued a community and society. Those questions directive on the urgency to create an led to responses that encompassed appropriate policy for reintegration of persons with mental health issues back Thirdly, we are focussed on a high social to the family/community. Our work and care component in mental health in approach has become all the more relevant primary care. We are considering the now, and we believe our focus on scaling caste/class/gender level losses and nexus, up mental health systems and designs, i.e., and the structural barriers / systemic approaches and interventions that service issues that impact well-being. We have vulnerable populations are critical. seen and heard from the people we work with that mere pill popping is not Firstly, we are in the process of sufficient. Recovery needs to include other consolidating ideas and introspecting on facets -- income enhancement, problem approaches that maximise work in value- solving support, skilling and employment. based and patient-centric care in Our programs such as Nalam are founded institutions. Whether we like it or not, the on this approach. need for emergency care and hospital- based services will exist. What form they Lastly, we are working on promoting self- take is the question. So what numbers to advocacy amongst persons who have cap at, who are the caregivers, how and experienced mental health concerns and what in should they be trained, what are homelessness, so the discourse on global the interventions needed, when do we use mental health is more nuanced and them, how should the social architecture representative of multiple realities, be developed, what are people’s rights in a particularly those of the Global South. particular socio-cultural context, what is Without co-production of knowledge, self-directed care, are all questions we are without putting the lived experiences of introspecting on and developing answers people with mental illness at the centre of to in our Transit Care Centre and Health the debate, there is no debate. Centre. In our journey to promote all-inclusive If you ask people with mental illness what recovery we are not alone. Our recovery means to them, they point out to stakeholders include the people that we experiences that give them a sense of serve, our donors, volunteers and living a life beyond the illness – caregivers. Each of them is a collaborator reconnecting with their identity, pursuing and partakes in making this vision a reality. work, engaging in leisure, relationships, It is so important that this base widens, responsibilities, and so on. And indeed, all that collaborations are fostered and therapeutic interventions should put this strengthened, and private public front and centre -- a person's notion of partnerships initiated. This is our goal – to what it means to be well. These are also bring in and work with diverse partners. the outcomes that the inclusive-living After all, mental health is everybody's options we discussed earlier promote, and business. that is our second focus area. 0 5 A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 7 MESSAGE FROM TREASURER BALRAJ VASUDEVAN When I see how with every year we grow To avoid leakages, and improve fiscal our engagement deeper and wider with the oversight, cash transactions have been people we serve and engage with the minimised with anything over INR 2000 structural, social, political and economic being paid only through cheque or direct underpinnings of mental health, I am truly transfer modes. As per the new income tax pleased and positive for the future. Growth regulations, incoming cash donations have is great but also demands organisational also been minimised, with all donations discipline and focus. The success of our over INR 2000 being received only as many programs across the country direct bank transfers, online, or through demand a seamless organisational support cheque. system, smooth and streamlined processes and rigorous checks and balances. Accountability extends end to end – from To deliver to that scale, all internal budgeting and allocation to programme services have now been strongly tracking and delivery and donor reporting. protocolised, and have robust governance Program heads are involved in all aspects manuals that ensure fair and transparent of the process along with the finance team. processes across the board -- hiring, In addition to easing the burden on the capacity-building, financial management, finance team, this ensures greater etc.

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