Some Facts and Figures

Every three second a person attempts to dieSuicide is the second leading cause of death, ahead of homicideAbout 1 lakh people die by suicide in India every yearDepression among the youth has grown from 2% to 12% in the

last five yearsAccording to WHO, Depression is the no:1 occupational disease of

the 20th Century.

AND YETDepression, Sucicidal Tendencies and Mental Illness is one of the

most neglected field of India

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AASRA: Helping People in Despair

Mission Statement

We aim to provide voluntary, professional and essentially confidential care and support to

the depressed & the suicidal.

The objective of Aasra is to alleviate human misery by offering active listening. i.e. non-

judgmental and non-critical listening to anyone who would like to avail of our services

when they feel anxiety, stress and despair.

Aasra Overview

Aasra is a crisis intervention centre for the lonely ,distressed and suicidal.

Aasra functions as a unit of Befrienders Worldwide /Samaritans and is registered as a Public Charity under the Bombay Charity Act, 1960(Registration No. E 2047).

Aasra/Befrienders is also associated with WHO,IASP,AFSP,UN

Activities

HELPLINE(24X7)GROUP WORKSHOPS (STRESS/AWA)TRAINING FOR VOLUNTEERSPEER SUPPORT TRAININGOUTREACH PROGRAMMESSUPPORT GROUPSNETWORKING WITH NGO’S

Target Groups

PEOPLE WHO ARE DEPRESSED/SUICIDALTERMINALLY ILL

HIGH-RISK GROUPS(Age:15-45)SECOND HIGHEST RISK (Age: 60+)

YOUNG PROFESSIONALSSTUDENTS

Aasra Beneficiaries

In the past ten years since inception AASRA's services have been accessed by telephone, face to face, email and letter by over 3 lakh callers seeking active emotional support for feelings of despair, depression and suicide.

The numbers keep increasing year after year. There has been an exponential increase in the number of callers since Aasra became 24x7.

Awards and Citations

After ten years of consistent high quality service and as a culmination of outstanding efforts in the field of suicide prevention, in January, 2006, AASRA was awarded the Maharashtra Ratna Gaurav Puraskar, (awarded to NGO's, activists, personalities of repute) by the Shiv Sangram Pratisthan, devoted to pursuing, upholding and commending the ideals of Shivaji Maharaj.

AASRA volunteers accepted the award from noted social activist Ahilyabai Rangnekar and Minister of state for forests, Shri Babanrao Pachpute.

What I Did As Part of the Organization

•A Part of the organizing committee for the even

commemorating World Suicide Survivor Day

•Made Posters

•Did Research and Prepared collateral for the

NGO

•Made a Magazine for them

•Get Sponsorship for the magazine as well as the

NGO

•Contact Organizations for permission to hold

outreach programs and Coping Workshops

Some Posters in the Series “Know The Symptoms”

The Series

The Series was basically a set of posters which were meant to spread awareness about the different symptoms to look out for, regarding Depression and Suicidal Tendencies.

Some Awareness Posters

Stats Poster Series

Poster for two columns in Magazine

Why?

These two posters were a part of the social media campaign as well as an integral feature of the magazine.

Our intent was to facilitate interaction with our target audience and build trust.