ON MY MIND
We are a nonprofit that sponsors high school & college students who are struggling with their mental health.
I am grateful you have found this website. It means that you are looking for a safe place to find answers and resources on mental health. I'm hopeful our foundation will provide some.
Why did I start this mental health foundation?
On Sept. 11th, 2020, my world was shattered as my son Karan’s death left me and our family devastated. Before he left, Karan was a vocal advocate for raising awareness on mental illness and mental health. He wanted to help his friends & all students struggling with their mental health. Many times, he would explain to me how important it is to address mental health openly, not to ignore feelings, and to seek appropriate help.
With Karan’s Daily Trojan column "On My Mind", he was hoping to reduce stigma and raise awareness by sharing from his own experiences. I realized that in honor of Karan’s legacy and his goals, I needed to continue spreading awareness and provide resources. It was September 2019 when Karan felt his first “SI” (no, I didn’t know what that means, until it happened to my son). An “SI” is a suicidal ideation, and he informed me that he wanted to be admitted to a mental hospital to prevent harming himself.
Karan and I had a long journey ahead of us, which had us going from one place to the next seeking treatment without any kind of support from insurance nor professionals in the mental health industry. It was traumatic, overwhelming, and at many times, I felt helpless. I had no clue what PHP, IOP stood for, nor did I know whether we needed to find a residential mental center or a mental health center to meet with the appropriate psychiatrist.
A residential mental center is where a patient lives for a certain period of time and gets 100% therapy and has limited communication with their family. Who decides how long the patient can stay? The psychiatrist, therapist & patients determine together the length of stay but they also communicate directly with insurances & caregivers. This is another reason I am determined to help all parents and students navigating similar situations who might be in need of resources.
This foundation provides professional mental health resources for both students & parents. This foundation is for students who are struggling from mental health and seeking help, parents who are looking for resources, and those healing from grief.