Summary: This report documents the journey of the fellowship and the stories of the fellows on how they have engaged with policymakers to bring about change in their communities when it comes to youth suicide prevention.
What the Report Covers
Outlive’s YASP Fellowship Report: Cohort 2 (2024–2025) provides a detailed account of the second cohort of the Youth Action for Suicide Prevention (YASP) Fellowship. The report also outlines the experiences of fellows, their community needs assessments and action plans, and how they engaged with local stakeholders and policymakers in the future.
It explains the context of youth suicide in India, the design and implementation of the fellowship, the training and mentoring processes, and the scale-up of the program to tier-2 cities.
Key Insights, Outcomes and Impact
Diverse and Inclusive Participation
The second cohort comprised of nine fellows from diverse backgrounds, including gender and sexual minorities, low-income groups and youth with lived experience.
Skill and Competency Gains
Fellows demonstrated increased knowledge and skills in
- Understanding policy processes and how to develop social action strategies
- Competencies related to youth suicide prevention and engagement with communities and policymakers
- Self-efficacy for influencing policy solutions
Community and Policy Engagement
The fellows engaged over 600 stakeholders, including community members and policymakers, across multiple cities. They proposed policy solutions and increased awareness of systemic factors contributing to youth suicide in their communities.
Geographic Reach
The fellowship had fellows from tier-2 cities that historically have fewer youth suicide prevention resources, including Jaipur, Bhubaneswar, Raipur, Srinagar and Gangtok.
Why the Report Matters
This report documents the journey of the fellowship and the stories of the fellows on how they have engaged with policymakers to bring about change in their communities when it comes to youth suicide prevention. It provides evidence that structured capacity building can improve youth understanding of policy, empower them to engage meaningfully with stakeholders, and contribute to systemic change at local levels.
The report also fills a gap in documentation on youth advocacy in mental health policy by offering insights into how youth from diverse and marginalised backgrounds can be supported to participate in policy engagement, strengthening the case for youth-centred approaches to suicide prevention.
Download the full report to explore the full findings, fellows’ journeys, detailed policy engagement activities, and training insights that can inform future programs and partnerships in youth suicide prevention.
Download here:
Outlive’s YASP Fellowship – Report: Cohort 2 (2024–25)
We have developed a quick guide which has suggestions on how to build an action plan when engaging with policy makers.
Download here
