Homeless and mentally ill - there is a way out

Vandana Gopikumar has worked extensively with homeless and poor persons with severe mental illness for three decades. She holds a PhD in social science and she cofounded The Banyan and The Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health, which have serviced over 3,000 homeless individuals and a million low-income households, including those from indigenous communities. Models developed at The Banyan are located within a social justice framework and are therefore collaborative and informed significantly by the wisdom of experiential experts. She uses case studies, ethnographies, and oral histories to better understand mental ill health attributions, identity, “social withdrawal,” “recovery” and hope. She is passionate about promoting peer-led care, leadership, advocacy and research.

She and her team have received several accolades for her work and championing the cause of people living with mental illness, especially women. These include, "WHO Public Health Champion Award" - 2017, "Justice J S Varma Award for Women’s Empowerment" - 2016, the "WHO and Swiss Foundation Award for Excellence in Mental Health Promotion" - 2012 and the "Sat Paul Mittal Award for Outstanding Service to Humanity".