Psychosocial Well-being

Sevalanka works with many communities that have been traumatized by war or natural disaster. Our psychosocial specialists are responsible for ensuring that mental health and wellbeing are considered in all of our programs. Our activities aim to empower individuals, groups and communities by helping them to understand their own internal processes so they can take control of their own lives. Psychosocial support goes beyond meeting people's physical needs to consider and address people's psychological and emotional needs and their need for social interaction.

Psychosocial wellbeing is a cross-cutting issue that we try to incorporate into all of operations and programs. The following initiatives have been developed with a specific focus on psychosocial support:

• Sensitizing community workers and community members to relevant issues and available support services.

• Establishing referral systems to qualified professionals.

• Training village volunteers in stress-release techniques, befriending and psychosocial activities for children

• Establishing ?Our Home? support centers with library and information centers, play areas, meeting rooms and befriending rooms where children and adults can gather, interact and access psychosocial and other support services

• Leveraging international awareness days to communicate information about wellness issues

• Coordinating with other organizations to share information about health concerns and wellness techniques

For more information about Sevalanka's psychosocial and well-being work, please contact psychosocial@sevalanka.org or visit our newsletter page to read recent articles about our work.