Coimbatore: Mosque Converted Into A Counselling Centre For COVID Patients

The coronavirus pandemic has also deeply affected the mental health of individuals. To address this issue, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, a Student Islamic Organisation, decided to transform a 40-year-old mosque in Coimbatore into a counselling and helpline centre for those infected with COVID. As religious prayers have come to a halt due to COVID, they decided to convert the space into a counselling centre. It started functioning on Friday, May 21.

The Masjidhul Hudha mosque in Karumbukadai will be guiding and providing every assistance to the ones seeking help for COVID treatment facilities. MS Sabeer Ali, the district secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind said that will be providing two facilities to the public. Firstly they will be providing live updates on the availability of beds in the district as well as counsel patients on their physical as well as mental health, reported The New Indian Express. It is not a paid service.

Sabeer further added that even though the live updates of the beds are available on government websites and triage centres, a lot of people still remain unaware of how to avail help from these portals. The facility has roped in 75 doctors to provide counselling to the patients. They received 50 calls on the very first day.

Additionally, a coordinator from the centre emphasised on the issue of mental health saying, "It is normal for everyone to feel stressed, confused, scared, or angry when they are being advised to isolate themselves." He also mentioned the importance of adequate psychological support and proper mental counselling in recovering from COVID and hoped that the centre will be able to help as many people as possible.

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