Open Hands

Vision:

To improve access to and quality of mental health care for individuals in Botswana who identify as LGBTI+

Who are we?

Open Hands supports and advocates for the mental health needs of LGBTQ+ communities in Gaborone and Francistown, Botswana. It is a community of peers dedicated to supporting one another’s mental health and ensuring those who need it can access the services they need.

What do we do?

We are creating a network of care for LGBTI people and their families to feel safe, connected and loved.

How do we do it?

We run self-care groups, make referrals to specialist services, and raise awareness of mental health issues amongst this community.

Background

Mental ill health is common among Botswana’s LGBTI+ community, who also face significant barriers when accessing mental health services, due to discomfort or fear of disclosing. As a result, this experience is normalised as an inevitable part of being LGBTI+ and very few people seek the help they need. We believe that poor mental health is not a consequence of our LGBTI+ identities, but of the discrimination, isolation, and violence we face for who we are.

Our Values

Our key values guide all that we do. It is important to us that these values resonate both in the services we provide as well as within our team in order to create a culture of care and an accessible mental health ecosystem in achieving our vision.

• Safety:
  We strive to create a non-judgemental space where individuals feel free to express themselves and share their feelings safely. FOD aims to ensure confidentiality for all its clientele and stakeholders respectively.
• Love:
  We ensure that love resonates through the care we provide. Our relationship is based on the values of empathy and kindness hence providing a sense of belonging for our clientele.
• Companionship:
  We are a network of care where nobody feels alone. We stimulate an environment where everyone is free to act spontaneously and supporting one another.
• Comprehensiveness:
  Recognizing that discrimination affects the mental health of LGBTQ community, we provide empowerment opportunities thus creating resilient communities.