The Social problem :

Rural Kutch, Gujarat faces a critical shortage of residential care facilities for elderly persons with mental illness and intellectually disabled individuals. Existing institutions are urban-centric, expensive, or entirely absent in remote areas like Rapar taluka, forcing impoverished families to abandon or neglect vulnerable members due to stigma and lack of support. Approximately 72 beneficiaries currently receive aid, including 15 elderly mentally ill residents, yet hundreds remain unreached across Kutch. Beneficiaries endure abandonment, medication gaps, poor hygiene, and social isolation, with many locked at home or wandering streets. Rising life expectancy, nuclear families, and youth migration worsen the crisis, threatening a humanitarian emergency within 5-7 years without intervention.

The Social solution:

Shree Gramya Seva Sangathan (SGSS), Rapar, is expanding a dedicated Old Age Home for mentally ill and intellectually disabled persons with 7,000 sq. ft. capacity for 50 residents. The integrated model provides safe residential shelter, 24X7 supervision, nutritious food, psychiatric care, counselling, and vocational rehabilitation including tailoring, gardening, and handicrafts. Step-by-step intervention covers identification through community outreach, admission with screening, clinical support with regular medical check-ups, skill-building activities in dedicated halls, and family reintegration through counselling and awareness programmes. SGSS links residents to government pensions and schemes while tracking progress via individual care plans and quarterly reviews. With 20+ years' experience and proven CSR partnerships, this rural residential-clinical-vocational model restores dignity and reduces abandonment.