Under the context of the Hult Prize 2014 Europe finals, we developed Conacción, a community based organisation, which supports the diagnosis, treatment and destigmatisation of mental illness among slums dwellers, through access to tools and human connections.
The conditions in which slum dwellers live promote the development of mental illnesses, and without access to diagnosis or treatment, they lead to other non-communicable diseases like diabetes, strokes, cancer and heart conditions.
Conacción is a service that consist of two main touchpoints: a first aid kit which includes a self assesment toolkit of mental health, this way we are encouraging the destigmatisation of mental conditions, by putting them at the same level as other diseases. And a network of slums radios, which provides a way to connect with other people, represents a source of income for the workers of the radios and a gathering space to slums dwellers to organise and get access to the first aid kits. Finally it represents a sustainable way of empowering slums dwellers to take over the mental health issue.
Collaborators: Charlyne Lefebvre-Paillé, Vivienne Heyhoe and Ed Tam
