The sector of Homelessness and Mental Health has been a step child of the social sciences for a long time. It has been more popular and fashionable to examine the two as independent issues than as a cross-sectoral issue.

To address this gap in society's response to a reality that easily blends with the cityscape, the first national level workshop on Homelessness and Mental Illness was held by The Banyan in August 2004. This gathering was aimed at increased visibility for the sector of Mental Health Care for Homeless Persons; it was an attempt to understand the sector and the four core dimensions of the issue. The workshop ended in the adoption of a mandate by the people and organizations participating in the effort.

Two years down the line it is time to revisit the issue, look at critical dimensions, the progress achieved and to examine appropriate future responses. This time the mode of analysis and action for the future has to be based on the single premise of ownership and participation in action for their own cause. The effort this time is to look at the creation of praxis - reflection and action - driven and owned by people who know best. The forum is intended as a launching pad for a nationwide movement that can advocate for the sector on terms set by clients and care givers. Movement processes for change in the sector of Mental Health Care for Homeless Persons can be successful only if they are driven by individuals who have faced the realities of homelessness and mental illness first hand.

A client's experience of living through the torture and fear of unknown voices nobody believes in, of wandering away and living off roads unaware of one's emotional or physical being, of being plagued by the feeling of loneliness and ostracism by family and the neighbourhood, of having to fight for basic rights that can help in reclaiming life back... these cannot be substituted by any amount of research work, delving into books or creating scientific jargon. A care giver's frustration and helplessness at knocking at many doors in vain to balance the tough life of poverty combined with the responsibility of an illness to be managed is the only lens through which accessibility to care or the vitality of economic support can be understood.

Clients and Care Givers have the right to determine the definitions of concepts and issues that affect them. They have the right to define what it means to be homeless, what it means to suffer a desolate search for hope, what is and what is not a violation of their rights, what are the service responses that they expect from the government and society, what is appropriate social and economic support and so on.

With this belief as the foundation, there will be a two-day gathering of clients and care givers who have faced the double burden of homelessness and mental illness, together with civil society actors, government and law machinery, and various other stakeholders. For the first time the clients will be given an opportunity to voice their fears, narrate their problems and make practical recommendations.

On the first day the families will get together to discuss problems ranging from access to care to acceptance and awareness. On Days 2 and 3 the clients and caregivers will get together to share their views on the above issues and to find solutions with eminent panelists from various walks of life.

Objectives The workshop's objectives have evolved over the many interactions that we have had with clients and care givers through meetings, parties, out patient facilities and other such gatherings. These interactions have helped us formulate four core issues that clients and care givers want to address in order to address their problems.

1. Access to Care,
A major problem faced by this cross section of the society. Though the National Mental Health Programme came into existence, only a few districts across the country have implemented it. If this issue is addressed properly, the other problems that persons with mental illness face can be tackled. Preventive care at the primary level will reduce the number of wandering persons with mental illness on the roads.

2. Life with a Dignity for all - a Dream or a Realistic Vision?
There was a huge hue and cry after the Erwadi incident, which has been followed by a pregnant silence. Is that the only human rights violation that these people face? Are these people invisible? Do they have an identity? Is the lack of identity a human rights violation? Don't they have a right to lead a life of dignity just like any one of us?

3. Economic and Social Burden
This is an illness that needs regular treatment. Constant reviews will surely impose a huge economic burden on the clients and care givers. The families tend to be stigmatized and isolated. Don't they need support?

4. The Future - Fears and solutions
The question that normally plagues the minds of these people after recovery is "Where do I go from here?", "What do I do with my life?" and Will I be accepted back into the society? "Who will look after my chronically ill relative?" will be the fear of an ailing mother/father/spouse. Is there a solution? The mental health sector has been receiving a step motherly treatment. What do we do to change this situation?

The Objective of the workshop is to give a platform for the clients to discuss and formulate remedies and to involve stakeholders in working towards one major issue - Access to Care.