Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: mental health advocate who saved suicidal teen

Hongkongers can be struggling with severe mental health problems but still not be considered urgent cases, according to mental health advocate Minal Mahtani, who wants community groups to play a bigger role before individual cases reach crisis point.

Mahtani, founder of OCD & Anxiety Support Hong Kong, said better referrals between hospitals, community mental health services and specialist charities could help people receive timely support while they wait for formal treatment.

Her work has earned her a place among the finalists in the community category of this year’s Spirit of Hong Kong Awards, co-organised by Sino Group and the South China Morning Post.

People assessed as stable can face long waits for psychiatric care, while district community mental health centres providing valuable general emotional support may not have the specialist techniques needed for conditions such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and anxiety, she said.

She wants a two-way referral system in which hospitals and community centres can direct suitable patients to organisations such as hers, while charities can refer people back when medication, housing or financial support is needed.

OCD & Anxiety Support Hong Kong runs monthly peer-support groups and affordable counselling, as well as yoga, art therapy and sound healing.

Mahtani said she wanted those services to be more readily available to Hong Kong people, regardless of race, income, language, sexual orientation, religion or other background.

Hong Kong was her home, she said, and the charity was intended to offer a safe, confidential and non-judgmental space where people could feel understood rather than alone.

She likened the support provided by her organisation to a “warm hug” given at a difficult time, with people leaving sessions feeling more hopeful and better equipped to cope with anxiety, stress, OCD or depression.

Mahtani started support group meetings in 2014 after losing a cousin to suicide. She became concerned about how difficult it was for people in Asian families to talk openly about mental health issues.

Only two people attended the first meetings. Twelve years later, she said around 30,000 people have sought help from her charity, including many who joined online during the Covid-19 pandemic from Hong Kong and overseas.

The stigma of mental health problems remained a barrier, she said, as those with such conditions were still sometimes associated with being unstable, dangerous or “crazy”.

Despite the challenges, Mahtani is pleased to see greater openness. When she first handed out green ribbons in Central for World Mental Health Day in 2015, some people returned them because they feared being associated with mental illness. But the annual campaign now draws 40 to 50 volunteers, while passers-by more readily stop to ask about support for themselves or loved ones.

Her work has also brought her into contact with people in acute distress. About four years ago, she received a call from the mother of a 14-year-old boy who was threatening to take his own life. Mahtani stayed on the phone with him while rushing to the scene and later persuaded the child to step away from the ledge. He is now at university in the UK and still sends her updates.

“We need to look out for each other when people are going through hard times,” Mahtani said.

“Everybody needs to keep sharing, because that’s when we can truly heal. If we don’t share, nobody knows.”

Launched in 2013, the Spirit of Hong Kong Awards honour individuals and groups whose work might otherwise go unnoticed.