New Youth Mental Health Initiative Unveiled in Chennai

A youth-led mental health campaign called 'Wall of Hope' was unveiled at the IIT-Madras Research Park in Taramani on Saturday. The initiative was created by the Schizophrenia Research Foundation and its Department of Youth Mental Health.

Campaign Details

The campaign started on October 10, 2025. It targets young people aged 10 to 25 and encourages them to share personal reasons for living through brief messages on colourful post-it notes. Young peer leaders and trainers run the activity, which is both voluntary and anonymous.

Reach and Dignitaries

The campaign has collected over 20,000 responses from six States and trained 400 volunteers. Madras High Court judge Justice N. Anand Venkatesh and SNEHA founder Lakshmi Vijayakumar attended the event, alongside SCARF vice-chairperson R. Thara and director Sridhar Vaitheswaran.

Context

Mental health initiatives for young people often use peer-led models to build trust and make it easier to seek help. Public campaigns help break the social stigma around emotional struggles by encouraging open conversations.