Skip to main content

Join the movement #BreakTheChains

 #BreakTheChains is a global movement against the inhumane practice of confining and chaining people with mental health conditions.


Due to lack of access to mental health care resources, "men, women, and children, some as young as 10, are chained or locked in confined spaces for weeks, months, and even years, in about 60 countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas," according to Human Rights Watch. The shackled victims are "forced to eat, sleep, urinate, and defecate in the same tiny area."

Most families who resort to this practice believe that mental health conditions happen to the sinned and are caused by evil spirits taking over the body.

In state-run, private, and religious institutions, many are victimized to sexual and physical abuse. 

"Globally, an estimated 792 million people, or 1 in 10, including 1 in 5 children, have a mental health condition," Human Rights Watch reports. "Yet governments spend less than 2 percent of their health budgets on mental health."

Celebrities like Allison Janney from the CBS television series, Mom, joined the global campaign and so can you! 

Spread the word on social media! 


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

'The Neutral Ground: A Story About Sore Losers' SUNY College at Buffalo 'Beyond Boundaries: Dare to Be Diverse Screening and Discussion Series' panel recap

The screening of "The Neutral Ground: A Story About Sore Losers," which took place last Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Burchfield Penney Art Center as part of the  Beyond Boundaries: Dare to Be Diverse Screening and Discussion Series , was followed by a discussion panel with Chief of Staff to President Katherine Conway-Turner and State University of New York College at Buffalo Chief Diversity Officer Crystal Rodriguez-Dabney; John Torrey, a professor who holds a doctorate in philosophy and Mikaila Morgan, an Africana studies major. Directed by CJ Hunt, a field producer for The Daily Show With Trevor Noah, this first movie to launch the spring semester chronicles New Orleans’ fight over Confederate monuments and “America’s troubled romance with the Lost Cause.” “When we talk about racism and all these deeply embedded prejudices, they’re institutionalized, and when we talk about the way they’re in our institutions, it’s not just the statues,” said Ruth Goldman, an associate professo

How to avoid family quarrels during the most wonderful time of the year: Thanksgiving

Ah, Thanksgiving: a time of cheer, laughs, good food and getting together with the family. But for some, it may be daunting to meet with certain members. After all, we’ve all heard of the in-law horror stories and watched the movies: “Monster-in-Law,” (2005) “Meet The Parents,” (2000) and “ Crazy Rich Asians" (2018). "Meet the Parents" (2000) Raffi Bilek, a Licensed Certified Social Worker – Clinical and the director of the Baltimore Therapy Center , shared his advice on how to avoid family tensions. “These days, I think politics is the hot topic. For the past couple of years, it’s gotten more and more polarized and political issues cause big arguments,” he said. According to a 2022 poll conducted by The New York Times and Siena College , 19% of registered voters said that politics damaged relations with family members or friends.  With the recent release of the dates and locations of the 2024 presidential debates , it's likely to come about in conversation at le

Women In Translation Month: The woman behind Jojo Adventure Books

photo credit: Cait Malilay Emily Shan is a New York City public school teacher, stay-at-home mom and author and creator of Jojo Adventure Books , a bilingual children’s board book series that’s written in Cantonese and English. Launched in September 2022, the series is based on real adventures, both big and small, of her daughter Jojo. “At the same time, I’m creating the resources for ourselves as well as families who want to be able to pass down that Cantonese language to the next generation and hopefully future generations beyond that,” Shan said.  What inspired her to launch this project is that while she was shopping for children's books, she noticed that a lot of them were more catered toward Mandarin-speaking families. Mandarin and Cantonese are tone languages. "Cantonese has six to nine tones, whereas Mandarin has four to five. You’ll see Cantonese written as traditional Chinese characters, whereas Mandarin will typically be written in simplified Chinese characters,&quo