MySahana is an American, California-based, 501(c)3 certified charitable and educational nonprofit organization dedicated to spreading awareness about mental health issues in the South Asian community. It is the first nonprofit its kind on the West Coast and the only one in the United States that focuses on providing culturally relevant and sensitive information about mental health, rather than providing direct services to the community.
Contents
Sahana means patience or fortitude in Sanskrit.
History
MySahana was founded on January 25, 2010 by marriage and family therapist intern Parijat Deshpande who, during her graduate career, felt that services in the South Asian community were lacking. Based on her experiences growing up as a South Asian and her professional experiences, she realized there was significant misunderstanding about what mental health is amongst South Asians and that mental health professionals knew very little about South Asian culture. She believed that while South Asians experience mental health symptoms, without proper education and awareness about what mental health is, the stigma for obtaining services would never lessen. Therefore, she began the nonprofit as a way to bridge the gap between the mental health field and the South Asian community.
Website
MySahana is a web-based organization to help South Asians obtain accurate and culturally relevant information from the privacy of their own home. Therefore, MySahana's website is the primary product of the organization. Content on the website is written by founder, Parijat Deshpande based on current research and her personal and professional experience working with South Asian clients. The website addresses common myths that South Asians have about different aspects of mental health and a list of South Asian service providers in the country who work in a profession that helps reduce mental health symptoms.
The main content on the website are the articles which present information about mental health symptoms, causes and treatments as well as healthy living tips, all as they relate to South Asians and their culture. Articles are sometimes written in the form of fictional stories to highlight the personal lives of people living with mental health issues. Other times they are strictly informative.
Newsletter
MySahana also publishes a monthly e-newsletter that is a complication of work produced entirely by its volunteers. This newsletter contains articles on South Asian mental health, tips on healthy living, an Ask Parijat section that serves as an advice column for readers' questions, and much more.
Workshops and seminars
Soon, MySahana hopes to incorporate workshops and seminars into its services. Led by Parijat, these workshops and seminars will cover a wide range of mental health topics that are relevant to South Asians.
Fundraising
MySahana is 501(c)3 certified and has begun fundraising. Preliminary reviews indicate that the major source of funding for the organization will be through private donations and some grants.
Media and public response
MySahana has generated interest in local media who picked up on the large void that the organization was filling, especially with the large South Asian population in the San Francisco Bay Area. An author for Water, No Ice an Indian online magazine writes, "The response from the community to MySahana has been extraordinary, reflecting, perhaps, the underserved needs of the community."
South Asians have responded very positively to MySahana, providing feedback through comments on the articles, emails and Facebook & Twitter messages that MySahana is providing an invaluable service.