This organization supports and provides awareness for A VIEW, an organization located in Kolkata, India. A VIEW for Women opened in January 2010 with the goal of delivering a new approach to mental health built on a model of integrated services. Here, amidst of four acres of lush greenery, rice paddies and fish farms near the village of Bererkhal in West Bengal, residents find housing, food, clothing, medical and psychiatric treatment, vocational skills and the support of a community.

Residents are introduced to the program by the organization's social work team, which identifies and tracks individuals who may benefit from their assistance. Many of the women are lost and far from home, having wandered hundreds of miles on the country's vast rail system. Some have been abused and neglected, but some were just so confounded by the symptoms of their illness that they walked away from their homes.

The program is voluntary; no one is forced to stay. Trained professionals — doctors, nurses, occupational therapists and social workers — form the core treatment group. Residents learn skills like knitting, quilt-making, farming, cooking, organic farming and small animal husbandry.

At the same time, the team attempts to determine where each resident originally came from so they may reach out to relatives. The hope is that ultimately, the women can go back to their families and be reintegrated into society.  When that happens, the staff continues to monitor their progress by keeping in contact and sending medications by mail.

A VIEW aims to provide the services and support each woman needs to heal and live life independently and with purpose.

Please check out A VIEW’s official website!