What I do
Four parts, one purpose.
Care-Ed is my mental health initiative for teens. The design lab is the half you can see and print; the helpline, the podcast and the sport are why it exists.
01
The design lab
Eight 3D-printable fidget tools, each with its parts, a Blender file and a Python script, published for anyone to print.
02
The helpline and advocacy
A confidential line where teens can voice concerns and grievances about mental health, and have someone push for change on their behalf.
03
The podcast
Conversations about teen mental health with people who work on it, and the story of the lab told in the open.
04
Sport, volunteering and fundraising
Sports sessions for children with disabilities, volunteering with institutions, and mental health fundraising events.
01The design lab
Eight 3D-printable fidget tools, each with its parts, a Blender file and a Python script, published for anyone to print.
Every design starts from a habit I noticed in myself or a classmate: the pen click, the spinner, the Lego brick turned over and over. I taught myself CAD and Blender to model it, write a script that rebuilds and animates it from primitives, print the parts and tune the fits. Then I give the files away, because the student who needs a fidget most is not the one who can order it.
02The helpline and advocacy
A confidential line where teens can voice concerns and grievances about mental health, and have someone push for change on their behalf.
The design lab exists because of the helpline, not the other way round. A fidget tool helps in the moment; the line is for what is behind the moment. Everything you tell me stays confidential. If you agree, I raise the issue with the people who can act on it: a teacher, a counsellor, a school.
Reach me on WhatsApp at +91 93307 44393, Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm IST. All the ways to get in touch.
03The podcast
Conversations about teen mental health with people who work on it, and the story of the lab told in the open.
I run the Care-Ed podcast because the tools only reach the hands; the conversations reach the rest. My first long conversation was with Angira Chakravorty Dasgupta, founder of SVã flo, on how stress shows up in teenagers and what actually helps. Episodes on the lab are planned too: how a concept starts, what I would change, and what the helpline work looks like.
With thanks to Angira Chakravorty Dasgupta. An M.Sc in bioinformatics who taught biology, danced Odissi for twenty years, then trained in dance movement therapy, art therapy, NLP and sound healing. She founded Healing Rhyyithm in 2015 and SVã flo after it, and has worked with more than ten thousand people across schools, NGOs, corporates and individuals. Find her at svaflo.com and read her story.
Planned episodes on the lab:
- From idea to sketch: how a concept fidget tool starts
- What I would change: rethinking a concept after feedback
- Behind the helpline: what advocacy work actually looks like
04Sport, volunteering and fundraising
Sports sessions for children with disabilities, volunteering with institutions, and mental health fundraising events.
Mental health is not only a thing you talk about. Through Care-Ed I volunteer at sports sessions for children with disabilities, where a game does what a fidget does, at full size: it gives the body something to do and the mind a reason to show up. I have also volunteered with institutions and at mental health fundraising events, and I plan to keep doing all three.
If you run a programme for children with disabilities, a school, or a fundraising event and want a volunteer, write to me.
The helpline
Before you reach out.
Who can contact the helpline?
Any teen who has something going on, at school, at home or in their own head, and wants to be heard. Parents and teachers are welcome to get in touch too.
What happens after I reach out?
I listen. Nothing is shared without your agreement. If you want something to change, I will raise it with a person who can act on it, a teacher, a counsellor or a school, and stay with it.
Is it confidential?
Yes. The only exception is a situation where someone is in immediate danger, in which case you should also call local emergency services or a crisis helpline.