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

24/02/2026

In this interview with Azim Premji University, Sarbani invites us to rethink the architecture of care.

What if accessibility wasn’t an afterthought? What if the burden of travel, proof, and exhaustion didn’t fall on the patient? In this segment, we imagine an alternative model of healthcare — one where doctors visit clients, where care moves toward the body instead of demanding the body move toward care.

This is a conversation about accessibility, but also about love. About reshaping health systems around dignity, interdependence, and real lives. Because care should meet us where we are.







Sometimes, happiness doesn’t come from big events.Sometimes, it comes from a small wish fulfilled… and a smile that says...
18/02/2026

Sometimes, happiness doesn’t come from big events.
Sometimes, it comes from a small wish fulfilled… and a smile that says everything

Uma di usually sits quietly, watching the world pass by with soft, curious eyes. That day, she looked at me with a sudden sparkle and said with a bright smile,
“Amak chosma ta porte debe?”
There was a childlike eagerness in her voice, as if this was a small wish she had kept inside for a long time.
I gently placed the sunglasses on her face. She straightened her back, touched the frame carefully, and then said excitedly,
“Photo tolo, dekhi kemon lagche!”
After the photo was taken, I showed it to her. Uma di looked at herself and broke into the widest smile. Her eyes lit up, her cheeks lifted, and for a moment, she looked not just happy—but proud.
It wasn’t just about wearing the sunglasses. It was about seeing herself in a new way. Feeling stylish. Feeling seen. Feeling special.
That simple moment of wearing a pair of glasses turned into a moment of pure joy. Uma di kept looking at the photo again and again, smiling as if she had discovered a new version of herself.



This Valentine’s Day, we asked residents at Pratyay one simple question —“ভালোবাসা মানে কী?” (What does love mean?)The a...
16/02/2026

This Valentine’s Day, we asked residents at Pratyay one simple question —
“ভালোবাসা মানে কী?” (What does love mean?)

The answers did not come in definitions.
They came as drawings, such as :

A house.
Flowers.
Fish.
Two people holding hands.
A table with fruit.

For some, love means home.
For some, it means care
For some, it means companionship.
And sometimes, love is hidden in everyday things.

There is no single way to understand bhalobasha. Sometimes it doesn't include big speeches or articulate poetry. Sometimes it looks like a small, steady understanding of love through imagery and metaphors. For persons with psychosocial disabilities, maybe love doesn't have to be dramatic. Maybe it is just this — showing up, staying, and making space for each other.

This is what love looks like here in this multi-dimensional, warm, caring halfway home.



This Valentine’s Day, we asked one simple question--"ভালোবাসা মানে কী?” What does love mean ? At Iswar Sankalpa love mea...
14/02/2026

This Valentine’s Day, we asked one simple question--

"ভালোবাসা মানে কী?”
What does love mean ?

At Iswar Sankalpa love means a place where you belong.

Love is a verb.

Not something we announce.
Something we practice.
Choosing dignity.
Practising belonging.
Recognising personhood — without condition.

Even in moments of illness.
Even in moments of uncertainty.

And we have the answer!


What is a halfway home?A halfway home is a place where people stay after leaving a mental health hospital or institution...
12/02/2026

What is a halfway home?

A halfway home is a place where people stay after leaving a mental health hospital or institution, while they prepare to return to everyday life.

A halfway home is not a hospital or an institution. It is a space for living, learning, and healing at one’s own pace.

At Pratyay, residents live together in a shared home. They follow daily routines, share meals, take part in activities, and receive support from caregivers and mental health professionals.

The focus is on recovery through everyday living - building confidence, learning skills, and reconnecting with people and community, at one’s own pace.

Pratyay supports people as they move from institutional care towards independent or supported living, with dignity, choice, and care.

Halfway homes play an important role in mental health care because recovery does not end at hospital discharge. It takes time, support, and safe spaces like these.

.vt

10/02/2026

Does resource constraint stops community work? or new efficient ways are innovated, where community stands tall for supporting and building safe spaces for homeless persons who wandering in the journey of mind has lost identity, home, family, friends and dignity. Yet as a human being- deserves care, dignity, support and has the right to health care services.

Listen to Sarbani Das Roy, Co- Founder of Iswar Sankalpa on Azim Premji University podcast-

Kolkata's invisible Crisis- Homeless with Mental illness and why Abdul Kalam stepped in



The Health Worker by RamG Vallath -

https://youtu.be/u8LOJ3Kh90Y?si=wJAjOefkxcwmPgFh




True inclusion requires more than policy -it demands "people who care"Iswar Sankalpa expresses sincere gratitude to Sasw...
04/02/2026

True inclusion requires more than policy -it demands "people who care"

Iswar Sankalpa expresses sincere gratitude to Saswati Das- Electoral Registration Officer, District Election Officer - Shri Vibhu Goel, Director of Land Records and Survey Govt. Of WB, BLO- Priyanka Banerjee, Micro Observer - Sayam Dey, Supervisor - Sk. Ali Ahmed as they all went above and beyond to support the SIR (Special Intensive Revision) hearing process for residents of Sarbari ( Shelter for homeless women with psychosocial disability)

They helped us and our 47 residents to navigate the administrative hurdles -all voices were heard, upholding dignity and accessibility.

We thank all the Government officials steering the hearing process and championing for rights of the most vulnerable citizens!

is a right, not a privilege.


vt

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

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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

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