SUPPORT FOR THE MIND - Iswar Sankalpa

SUPPORT FOR THE MIND - Iswar Sankalpa This quote sums up the reason why we do this work, and where we draw our passion from.

Iswar Sankalpa works towards upholding the rights and dignity of homeless and vulnerable persons with psychosocial disabilities in Kolkata, India through informed interventions and networks. "Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat."

~Mother Teresa

28/01/2026

Beyond the spectacle of raw speed, peak physical form and the celebration of the "standard" body and mind, Iswar Sankalpa's Annual Sports, 2026 was beyond RACE - it was a profound act of reclaiming spaces - The Quiet Defiance of Being Seen at the spaces which once refused and rejected a homeless person with psychosocial disability.

Through consistent effort and wholehearted participation, stillness was shattered. The field bore witness not to passive spectatorship, but to pure, unrestrained joy. Residents from Sarbari, Marudyan, and Pratyay Half-Way Home, along with participants from UMHP, stepped forward — shedding inhibitions and participating with full hearts, voices raised in cheers and celebration — affirming their right to be seen, valued, and included.

Celebrating Annual sports with students from Kailash Vidya Mandir - reiterated that presence and inclusion is not a request for permission - It is a declaration of existence.


.vt

16/01/2026

How recovery looks ?

Meet Poltu — once our client, now a barber.
Poltu is gently cutting Anna’s hair.
Poltu was once our client at Iswar Sankalpa. Over a period of time with care and support, he began to heal. Poltu is happily reunited with his family.
Now Poltu works as a barber near Gariahat. He cuts hair and earns with dignity.

This morning, Poltu came from Dhakuria with our social worker to support two of our clients with hygiene. As he gently cut their hair, beard - helping them to get clean and fresh he is building their way to dignity and inclusion.

His journey reminds us that recovery is real with support.
New beginnings are always possible. 🌱


.lawrie

14/01/2026

Rooted in the objective of shifting away from "siloed" care—where the mind and body are treated separately—towards a biopsychosocial model in a co-located care mode, Iswar Sankalpa in collaboration with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Health Department, inaugurated a six-day Mental Health Training Programme for 159 Urban Primary Health Centre (UPHC) Medical Officers and Borough Health Executive Officers. The training aimed to strengthen public mental health service delivery at the primary care setup. In presence of senior officials from the KMC Health Department, including – Honorary Advisor (Health), Deputy Chief Municipal Health Officer, Medical Officer Nodal Officer NUHM, Executive Health Officer & MSO, Programme Manager NUHM, Executive Health Officer (Br-VI), Secretary of Iswar Sankalpa and eminent Psychiatrists - toward building a shared vision of a “Kolkata – A Mental Health Friendly City.”
.vt

08/01/2026

Pratyay — Halfway Home “মনের মতো ঘর” — reflects our conviction that every person deserves a home where the right to life is fully realised. On the auspicious day of Kalpataru, 1 January 2026, Iswar Sankalpa began its three-year stewardship of Pratyay in collaboration with the Department of Health & Family Welfare and the Department of Women & Child Development and Social Welfare, Government of West Bengal.

Rooted in the spirit of Kalpataru — a symbol of hope, renewal, and compassion — Pratyay embodies an assisted-living model that nurtures dignity, autonomy, and belonging, helping individuals move beyond mere survival toward a life of meaning, abundance, and self-worth. Initiation of our journey was graced and blessed by Swami Suparnananda Maharaj - Ram Krishna Mission, Narayan Swarup Nigam- Principal Secretary, Health & Family Welfare, Sweta Agarwal- Director - Department of Social Welfare, Prof. Pushpa Misra - President, Indian Psychoanalytical Society, Ex Principal Bethun College, Dr Swapan Saren- Director of Health Services, Ananya Chakraborty - Advisor Pavlov Hospital, Dr Subroto Roy - Asst. Director Health Services (Mental), Dr Masood Ali - Superintendent Pavlov Mental Hospital, Dr Biswajit Roy - Superintendent Lumbini Park Mental Hospital.
Debjani Dey emceed the evening and Singer Purba Sen Sharma, Paromita Saha, Gautam Banerjee, Kaushiki Das Roy and Dibakar Deewanji on Tabla made the evening melodious.

   .vt 

02/01/2026

Does being on the street stop the need for care? What happens to the last person wandering on the streets with vulnerability, natural calamities, abandoned by the family, ignored by the system and stigmatized by the society?

How does the care circle still continue? What empowers the care movement?

Holding up these questions-- on 30th December, 2025 a panel discussion moderated by Nu brought forward the solution and answer that holds up the movement WHEN ALL TOOLS FALL APART.

Director and Co-founder of Iswar Sankalpa Sarbani Das Roy shared her movement experience. She brought to the panel how human relationships protect- fragility, weakness and struggle of a homeless person battling psychosocial disability on the streets.

It is the humane empathy and emotions that builds the safety net in the community which has strengthened Iswar Sankalpa over 18 years of service to homeless person battling psychosocial disabilities.

.for.equality

29/12/2025

When all Tools Fall Apart - We Mend it Back Together. Every movement that holds spaces for the people at the margins of the margins not locking them away, is liberatory.

A panel discussion on 30th, December Tuesday at Storyteller Bookstore at Picnic Garden from 4pm brings together a discussion on movement, access and accountability.

Listen to Ms Sarbani Das Roy, Co-founder and Director of Iswar Sankalpa and other panelists as they discuss about their movement experiences and how courage and consistency to show up will build a safe world.
.lawrie

For the second consecutive year, Iswar Sankalpa, in collaboration with Bhawanipore Police Station, organised a Mental He...
16/12/2025

For the second consecutive year, Iswar Sankalpa, in collaboration with Bhawanipore Police Station, organised a Mental Health Medical Camp on 11th December, 2025
Homeless men and women with mental illness were brought to the camp, where initial mental health assessments, psychiatric consultations, and medication guidance were provided. Food for the clients was thoughtfully arranged by the police station.

This year, 7 individuals received direct mental health support, while 74 community members were reached through public awareness. Encouragingly, we continue to witness a gradual reduction in stigma and a growing sense of empathy among police personnel.

With each passing year, the bond between the police, the community, and mental health care grows stronger—moving us closer to dignity, care, and inclusion for all.

.vt .lawrie

Dr Prabir Paul President, Iswar Sankalpa during Dr Amit Bohra Memorial Oration at 26th Annual National Conference of Pri...
09/12/2025

Dr Prabir Paul President, Iswar Sankalpa during Dr Amit Bohra Memorial Oration at 26th Annual National Conference of Private Psychiatry 2025 addressed the bidirectional link of homeless-ness and mental health coupled with poverty, stigma and lack of accessibility to resources creating a vicious cycle which exacerbates homeless-ness and mental health issues affecting millions. He covered Mental Health Act (MHCA) 2017, which aims to protect the vulnerable while highlighting the slow implementation. He emphasised on integrated care and multi sectoral efforts from Government & NGOs to address the growing concern.
.vt

🌿 Day 3 – OD Training: A Group That Found Its Pulse 🌿Our final day with ChangeMantra closed with a line that captured ev...
04/12/2025

🌿 Day 3 – OD Training: A Group That Found Its Pulse 🌿

Our final day with ChangeMantra closed with a line that captured everything we lived through:
“Ei group-tay onek pran ache.” This group is alive.

That aliveness showed up in reflection, honesty, discomfort, laughter — and the courage to ask harder questions.

Through activities on membership, trust, judgement, colours, shapes, roles, and tiny circles of sharing, we saw not just how we function, but who we are becoming.

And then came the quiet disruptor: Stop. Start. Explore.
From anonymous sheets emerged truths we rarely say aloud:

✨ “I need to stop carrying everyone’s burdens.”
✨ “I need to stop apologising for who I am.”
✨ “I need to start being vulnerable.”
✨ “I need to start questioning authority.”
✨ “How do I create space for newcomers?”
What unfolded was a mirror — showing how judgments leak into behaviour, how silence creates cracks, and how systems can support or suffocate depending on how they’re held.

We explored the difference between systematisation vs. bureaucratisation, and the familiar dynamic of founders as parents where voices shrink because “someone elder will decide.”

A breakthrough emerged:
An organisation breathes through People, Task, and Culture — only when held together. No one person can hold it alone.

Our strengths shone through:
💛 Alignment with purpose
💛 Diversity that enriches
💛 Emotional intelligence and playfulness
💛 A shift from passivity to engagement

Day 3 didn’t end the workshop — it opened a braver chapter.
One where we choose to be honest, curious, accountable, and alive together.

If Day 1 helped us open, and Day 2 helped us see —
Day 3 helped us step forward.🌿

.vt .roop

Celebrating International Day for Persons with Disabilities—"we admit they teach us more than we teach them.”Today, on t...
03/12/2025

Celebrating International Day for Persons with Disabilities—"we admit they teach us more than we teach them.”

Today, on the International Day for Persons with Disabilities, we remind ourselves why we do this work—and who we do it for. Working alongside people with psychosocial disabilities has taught us resilience, honesty, courage, and the power of community. Their journeys keep shaping us. As an organisation, we continue to stand for rights, dignity, rehabilitation, and inclusion, challenging stigma and building a world where every person is recognised, respected, and able to belong.
vt @ @balmer.lawrie

🌿 OD Training – Day 2: Where Systems, Scripts & Self-Reflection Collided😌✨Theme:“Holding has to be in the culture of a s...
03/12/2025

🌿 OD Training – Day 2: Where Systems, Scripts & Self-Reflection Collided😌✨

Theme:“Holding has to be in the culture of a system.”
Meaning: systems work when people feel seen, safe, and honest enough to say, “I’m unsure, I’m nervous, and I don’t have all the answers.”

We also met our old script: “bhalo hote hobe.”
The good-child cape that follows us into work — sometimes helping, sometimes just weighing us down. 😅

And the classic tension: traditional voices vs. new voices.
More tea party chaos than conflict — asking, Where can these meet without shaking the system?

🔍 Highlights

1️⃣ Inclusivity & Democracy
Rating our organisations showed one truth:
Same system, very different experiences depending on where you stand.
Perception became powerful feedback.

2️⃣ The Island Exercise 🌴
Our “ideal systems” revealed hidden fears:
control, rigidity, exclusion, utopian wishfulness.
A reminder that real systems need space for mess, pain, and mistakes.

3️⃣ Dissent Styles— Silent Suffering, Crib Club, Cynic & Rebel ⚖️
Each offers relief and each carries a cost.
And yes — there’s a difference between “feedback welcome” and “don’t disturb the calm.”
✨ Day 2 Reflection
Systems grow when people feel safe to bring their whole selves — doubts, dissent, old scripts and all.

Vulnerability isn’t a weakness; it’s a superpower.
And sometimes growth is just telling your inner good child:
“It’s okay to be messy. It’s okay to be human.” 💛

🌿 Day 1 of OD Training: Seeing Ourselves, Seeing Our System 🌿The first day of our Organisation Development training with...
02/12/2025

🌿 Day 1 of OD Training: Seeing Ourselves, Seeing Our System 🌿

The first day of our Organisation Development training with Roop Sen and Uma Chatterjee from Change Mantra unfolded like a slow unlayering of our organisation—its people, emotions, culture, and invisible systems.

What grounded today’s conversations were the core themes we explored right at the start:
✨ Connectedness & inclusion – noticing who feels held and who feels left out.
✨ Trustworthiness, cooperation & commitment – the real threads that hold teams together.
✨ Comfort evaluation – where we feel secure, and where anxiety quietly shapes our decisions.
✨ Clarity, expectations & limitations – the weight of roles and the pressure of “doing enough.”
✨ Knowledge building, identity & belonging – how shared meaning strengthens systems.
✨ Transformation & learning – not forced, but emerging from reflection and honesty.

One of the most powerful experiences was the role-reversal exercise.
Founders took on the role of workers.
Managers stepped into the position of founders.
Team members embodied managerial responsibilities.

In those moments, something shifted.
We could feel what the other carries:
— the pressure of decisions,
— the weight of expectations,
— the discomfort of ambiguity,
— the anxiety of being unseen,
— the need for affirmation, trust and clarity.

Comfort changed. Boundaries felt different.
We understood limitations—our own and each other’s.
We recognised how identity, position and power shape everyday emotions in the system.

This exercise made something very clear:
an organisation is not just a structure—it is an emotional ecosystem.
Strengthening it, means understanding the lived realities of every person who holds it together.

Today was introspective, sometimes uncomfortable, but deeply necessary.
It reminded us that real organisational development begins when we:
notice, understand, empathise, and see the system through each other’s eyes.
Change starts the moment we choose to see what we usually overlook.

@mariwalahealth@prakashgoossens

Address

19/3 Pitambar Ghatak Lane, Chetla
Kolkata
700026

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 6pm
Tuesday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 6pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 10am - 6pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when SUPPORT FOR THE MIND - Iswar Sankalpa posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to SUPPORT FOR THE MIND - Iswar Sankalpa:

Shortcuts

Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn
Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share via Email
Share on WhatsApp Share on Instagram Share on Telegram