Connecting Trust tries to meet the existing gap of the dearth of the mental health professionals by training people from all walks of life. Ours is a volunteer run organization. When volunteers join in from all walks of life, it represents a joining in from all sections of society towards the cause.
We have a diverse set of volunteers: working people, homemakers, students, retirees, people who have felt suicidal before and are in a better place now to support others, people who have recovered from a mental health condition. Our set of volunteers cut across socio economic classes and the gender spectrum too, in a way mirroring the diversity in our community.
With volunteers from all walks of life being the lifeline of Connecting, our model becomes more scalable, cost effective, meaningful and an enriching experience to our volunteers and the community.
The training process starts with orienting interested people on the programs that Connecting offers and its guiding Principles. Interested candidates are requested to fill up a form which gives them an opportunity to reflect on their inherent response styles, beliefs and values and allows us to understand them more closely. This is followed by a conversation between the interested candidate and a Connecting Volunteer to understand their readiness and alignment to do this work.
All the selected candidates undergo an intense and experiential training program. This training has been developed in house and fine-tuned over the years and has become a well-designed program enabling a transformative experience for the volunteers.

The first phase of the training is for 5 weekends of theory modules, interspersed with mid-week practice sessions. After a check in after 5 weeks, the more aligned and suitable volunteers choose their verticals and undergo 1 more month of practice or observation depending on the vertical of their choice.
In these 5 weeks, they learn how to listen in a mindful way (MBAL). All participants are trained in staying with and exploring pain, feelings of suicide, grief, death, sexual distress, and mental health conditions. They also learn how to support minors going through sexual abuse.
The entire process is nearly 100 hours of training and practice sessions before they are ready to support others.
The outcome of this program is to build a strong set of volunteers who can support people in distress, no matter which program they are volunteering for. This would also aid in cross program volunteering and growth.

Continuous support is offered to the volunteers through the mentoring process with check-ins and debriefs for the first year of the volunteer, then tapering off to a need-based support. Periodic listening circles and buddy programs work as self-care mechanisms. Refresher modules are offered periodically as per need.
As trained volunteers we, apart from listening and supporting our beneficiaries, take back the work in our own families and communities enabling a more meaningful connection with them.

DISTRESS HELPLINE {for those in emotional distress or feeling suicidal}:

9922004305 | 9922001122 (all days, 10am – 8pm)
To know more, call or Whatsapp on: 7030230033 (Chetan Kawale)