From Conversation to Change – Outlive Expands Youth-Led Support for Suicide Prevention in India

When someone is going through an emotionally difficult period, knowing that there is a place to talk can make reaching out feel a little easier. For many young people, the opportunity to be listened to without judgment can be an important first step toward finding support. Outlive is working to make conversations around suicide, self-harm, emotional distress, and mental health more open and supportive for young people in India.

As a youth suicide prevention program, We brings together peer support, youth leadership, public engagement, and lived experience to encourage meaningful change at both individual and systemic levels. Led by the Centre for Mental Health and Policy and Indian Law Society, in collaboration with Sangath and Quicksand Design Studio, Outlive engages young people aged 18–24 years with lived experience of suicide, self-harm, distress, or mental health problems across urban cities in India.

Rather than viewing young people only as people who need support, Outlive recognises them as important contributors to suicide prevention. Their experiences, perspectives, ideas, and leadership can help shape approaches that are more relevant, compassionate, and responsive to the realities faced by young people today.

Making It Easier to Talk About Difficult Experiences

Conversations about suicide are often surrounded by silence and stigma. Someone experiencing suicidal thoughts or emotional distress may hesitate to speak because they are worried about being judged, misunderstood, or becoming a burden to others. Outlive aims to challenge this silence by encouraging more compassionate conversations.

The program creates opportunities for young people to talk about difficult experiences, learn about suicide prevention, access emotional support, and participate in activities that can help communities better understand mental health and suicide prevention. At the heart of this approach is a simple idea: people should have opportunities to be heard before they feel they have to face difficult experiences alone.

Outlive Chat: A Space to Connect With Peer Support

One of Outlive’s key initiatives is Outlive Chat, a confidential, chat-based emotional support service for youth experiencing distress. For some young people, starting a conversation online may feel more comfortable than speaking about difficult emotions face-to-face. A chat-based format gives them an accessible way to connect and share what they are going through. Outlive Chat provides a supportive space where young people can communicate with trained peer supporters.

These conversations focus on listening, understanding, and providing emotional support without judgment. The service recognises that people may not always know exactly what to say when they reach out. They may simply know that something feels difficult or overwhelming. Being able to begin a conversation in their own words can help make reaching out feel more approachable. Outlive Chat is part of a broader effort to make support accessible to young people while encouraging them to explore appropriate resources and additional support when needed.

Turning Lived Experience Into Meaningful Action

Lived experience plays an important role in Outlive’s approach to suicide prevention. Young people who have experienced suicide, self-harm, emotional distress, or mental health challenges can bring perspectives that are often missing from traditional conversations about prevention. Their experiences can help identify barriers to support, highlight the impact of stigma, and inspire new ways of approaching suicide prevention.

Outlive creates opportunities for these voices to contribute not only to conversations about support but also to wider efforts to create change. This approach reflects the belief that young people can be partners in developing solutions rather than simply being viewed as beneficiaries of existing services.

Building Youth Leadership Through YASP Fellowship

Suicide prevention also requires leadership and action beyond individual conversations. The Youth Action for Suicide Prevention (YASP) Fellowship is designed to empower young people to become active contributors to suicide prevention through policy and governance. The fellowship supports youth leaders in developing their understanding, perspectives, and ability to participate in conversations about suicide prevention.

It provides an opportunity for young people to bring their experiences and ideas into spaces where decisions about communities, policies, and systems are discussed. By encouraging youth participation, Outlive aims to support a generation of young leaders who can contribute to long-term improvements in how suicide prevention is understood and addressed.

Tackling Stigma Through Public Engagement

Stigma can affect how people talk about suicide, how communities respond to someone experiencing distress, and whether individuals feel comfortable seeking help. Outlive’s Public Engagement Campaigns aim to address these challenges by providing young people with suicide prevention resources and opportunities to engage with wider communities. These campaigns encourage more informed and compassionate conversations around suicide.

They also help young people share information, question common misconceptions, and contribute to efforts that can reduce stigma. Public engagement is important because suicide prevention cannot happen only within formal mental health services. Friends, families, educational institutions, workplaces, communities, and wider society all have a role in creating environments where people feel supported.

Moving Beyond Silence Toward Connection

Suicide prevention is not simply about responding when someone reaches a moment of crisis. It also involves building stronger connections, improving understanding, making support easier to access, and creating spaces where people can speak honestly about emotional distress. Outlive’s work brings these different elements together. Through Outlive Chat, young people can access confidential, chat-based emotional support.

Through the YASP Fellowship, young people can develop leadership and participate in policy and governance conversations. Through Public Engagement Campaigns, they can help challenge stigma and share suicide prevention resources with others. Together, these initiatives reflect a youth-led approach that connects individual support with broader social and systemic change.

About Outlive

Outlive is a youth suicide prevention program led by the Centre for Mental Health and Policy and Indian Law Society, in collaboration with Sangath and Quicksand Design Studio. The program engages youth aged 18–24 years with lived experience of suicide, self-harm, distress, or mental health problems across urban cities to address youth suicide prevention in India. Outlive aims to empower and enable young people to tackle stigma related to suicide, provide chat-based emotional support, and work towards systemic change in their specific contexts.

The program offers Outlive Chat, a confidential, chat-based emotional support service for youth in distress; the Youth Action for Suicide Prevention (YASP) Fellowship, which empowers youth leaders in policy and governance for suicide prevention; and Public Engagement Campaigns, which enable young people to use suicide prevention resources to challenge stigma and encourage meaningful conversations.