'Verty Party': Tamil men to don traditional outfits, tackle stigmas around mental-health issues
Men's mental-health awareness event to take place in Scarborough on Saturday
Though stigma surrounding mental health exists across society, it has a particularly detrimental impact on men within the Tamil community in Canada, according to Ragavan Paranchothy the co-founder of Men's Services for Mental Health. (CBC News)
By Ramna Shahzad-Jun 03, 2016
Men's Services for Mental Health is throwing a "Verty Party" this weekend where men will sport traditional South Asian garb to raise awareness about, and address the stigma surrounding, mental health within the Tamil community.
"My community, the Tamil community, has seen war for 30 years. We are fairly new to Canada and the Western world and we go through a lot. Men in particular suffer a lot and don't put it out there," Ragavan Paranchothy, the co-founder of Men's Services for Mental Health, told CBC's Metro Morning on Friday.
"They don't talk to their family, they don't talk to their friends, or to doctors, about their mental health. They suffer," he said.
What Paranchothy hopes to achieve with the campaign is to normalize topics related to mental health and make it easier to have conversations about conflicts left behind, financial stress and other sources of mental stress for men.
The "Verty Party," which will take place on Saturday at the Scarborough Convention Centre, is an opportunity for men to have open conversations about mental-health issues, as well as a chance for them to wear a traditional South Asian item of clothing worn by men, known as a veshti or dhoti.
Men's Services for Mental Health is hosting a party where men can sport traditional South Asian attire for a good cause -- to have conversations about mental health. (Facebook/ Verty Party For Men's Mental Health Promotion)
"It's part of our awareness campaign. We want to talk to young people so they can get in touch with their own thoughts and feelings and they can also propagate conversations outside," said Paranchothy. "We want [young people] to become ambassadors of the cause, get involved and start talking about it."
Paranchothy said that mental health takes a huge toll on Tamil families who have left behind their friends and family.
Certain months can be more difficult for the community and can be reminders of the pain and suffering of those left behind, Paranchothy said.
"We remember the Tamil genocide in May, and November is when we commemorate the fallen men and women who fought for Tamil freedom," he said, adding that at times like these, it is particularly important to speak out and seek help if needed.
