Mrinalini Ravi has been engaged in the mental health sector for over 12 years. While she’s held several portfolios in her career, she holds her five-year stint managing a shelter for homeless men with mental health issues closest to her heart. She has, since 2012, worked with the Greater Chennai Corporation in building this as part of the National Urban Livelihoods Mission scheme.

During the coronavirus pandemic, she was part of the leadership team that established The Banyan’s Emergency Care and Recovery model across 8 districts in Tamil Nadu, where acute and rehabilitative care services exclusively for homeless persons with mental illness were available in district hospital premises, a first in the country. Mrinalini is also the primary liaison for The Banyan and BALM’s philanthropic partners, helping create meaningful collaborations by bringing together key stakeholders’ agendas, identifying common ground in each partner’s unique vision for change, and arriving at a common goal using optimal and sustainable resources.

Mrinalini’s research experience has attempted to encapsulate some of these partnerships, with special focus on the voices of persons with lived experience of mental ill health, and those accessing The Banyan’s services. Mrinalini was also Director, Secretariat, Movement for Global Mental Health (2020-2023).