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BUVENASVARI PRAGASAM, 36
After her father died in 2015, it took Ms Buvenasvari Pragasam six months to recover from the loss.
Her personal healing journey led her to start Solace Art Therapy two years later, which is a social enterprise that offers art therapy courses and workshops at subsidised costs.
Ms Buvenasvari (left, standing) had quit her full-time job as an educational therapist at the Dyslexia Association of Singapore in 2016 to pursue a masters degree in art therapy at the LASALLE College of the Arts.
Her experience from working with underprivileged people led her to ask herself how she could contribute further to the community and she formed Solace Art Therapy.
"Many have a flawed perception of art therapy and art therapists," she said. "The gaps in mental health awareness among the public was also a challenge we had to deal with."
For example, she would send out more than 200 promotional e-mails and receive only one reply.
Snide remarks from close relatives also made things harder for her.
But the pandemic brought about a change in the general awareness of mental health which Ms Buvenasvari used to her advantage.
She also had to find a balance between the philanthropic and business aspects of the venture.
She initially aimed to work with government organisations and prisons before reaching out to youth and adults but the plan proved to be unfeasible.
To date, more than 245 people have benefited from Solace Art Therapy's programmes.
Ms Buvenasvari is now hoping to transform her other venture Card Atelier, a handmade greeting card business, into a social enterprise that benefits battered women in India.
