Photo: Neil Thomas | Unsplash
Positive News Network has been studying solutions to the mental health crisis and has found some amazingly simple solutions. Mental illness, affecting one in eight people worldwide, often appears insurmountable, with 700,000 annual deaths by suicide. Inspired by a successful project in Zimbabwe, which trains grandmothers in CBT counseling, Positive News studied similar endeavors in low-income countries. From free sports clubs in Yemen to Indigenous women-led circles in Guatemala, these projects, run on minimal budgets by active citizens, harness human connection to alleviate mental distress. Now, the Zimbabwean initiative plans a London pilot, bringing its Friendship Bench method to a low-income neighborhood. Will this straightforward approach prove effective in the UK? The 12 projects showcased in the series illustrate the healing power of human connection. While mental illness remains a significant challenge, it can be effectively addressed at relatively low cost, offering hope for a brighter future.
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