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SCARF’s services have not been merely confined to institutions, but extended to both urban and rural communities.

The objectives of the Community Mental Health Care programs have been:

• Identify persons with mental health problems in the community
• Provide treatment and rehabilitation services, at the door step
• Sensitise the common man to mental health issues,
  
• De-stigmatise and de-mystify mental illness in the lay population.
  

Our strategies have included:

• Identifying a grass root level organization , who are essentially socio-developmental in their objectives, either for the population as a whole or for the disabled in the community;
• Training community volunteer workers in the identification and referral of persons with mental disorders, using audio-visual aids and interactions through role-play; 
• Operating periodic mental health clinics in the community to provide medical care to the identified mentally ill;
• Increasing awareness of mental health problems in the population, using public friendly methods like face-to-face talks, street theatre, folk dance and drama;
• Training the community workers to implement simple psychosocial rehabilitation measures, particularly the mobilisation of  locally available resources;
• Networking with other medical and social service organisations for the purpose of rehabilitation;
• Establishing Family and Community support groups for the people with Schizophrenia and other chronic mental illnesses;
• Organising programs for Promoting positive mental health .
  

Collaborating NGOs:

• ECOMWEL, an NGO involved in the social and educational development in Thiruvalur Town.
• Vidhya Praka asham, an NGO operating Day care centers for Disabled children in Kanchipuram Town.
• Good life center : home for the destitute mentally retarded children, East Tambaram, Chennai.
• Madras School of Social Work (MSSW) , Development center, Karalapakkam, Thiruvellore District.
• Montford Community Development Services , Center for Urban Development.
• Kaveripakkam Society for Reconstruction .
• Vidya Sagar , Chennai
• KOGS , Chengelpet
• The Temple of  Service run by the Annalakshmi group of Hotels, whose trust  operates Medical care programs in Chennai and Coimbatore
  

Training:

The people involved with these organisations at various levels have been trained to:

• Recognize possible signs and symptoms of mental health problems,
• Plan referrals after identification,
• Deliver medication at the homes of the sick and to deal with common, minor side effects of medication,
• Organise Public awareness programs , using of folk drama and music,
• Establish support groups in the community.

The participants of the training program have been  Social workers , health educators, animators, community organizers, Volunteers, key informant, significant members from women’s club and youth club.

Mental health clinics

These are in operation on prearranged  dates, and locations. During the clinics all patients are examined and diagnosed by the doctor, who then prescribes medication, medicines are given to the patients by the mental health team.

Examples of our camps include:

1) In Tambaram the mental health program was initiated in collaborating with Good Life Centre (NGO) a home for the destitute mentally retarded children. Tambaram is located in Chennai.This clinic covers beneficiaries from lower socio economic background. Majority (60%) of the cases, which attend the clinic, are Psychoses.

2) Kanchipuram clinic is conducted on the 4th Saturday of every month in the premise given by Vidhyaprakaasham.( a special school for the Cerebral Palsy and Mentally Retared Children).   This clinic covers the patients from Kanchipuram Town and also Vellore district. The patients seek help at the clinic after being informed by the trained volunteers. Surprisingly in this center more number of patients are referred by other users. In this center the diagnostic break up is Anxiety, Depression, Somatoform disorders, Drug addiction, Schizophrenia and children with behavioral problems.

3) The Temple of Service is a medical program operated by the Annalakshmi group of hotels. This is an international chain of   hotels, which utilizes profits into providing free medical care to the needy. Currently, the program is operational in  Coimbatore and Chennai. SCARF has incorporated the mental health care services in the project operated in Chetput. This program primarily  caters to the slum dwellers in the area.