In Dakshinpuri, Delhi, trained young people built a mental health ecosystem with one aim:
bringing parents and their children closer together.
18 months. 700+ people reached. Real change, measured.
0%
increase in mental health literacy
0%
increase in resilience
0
youth and parents reached
0%
more confident accessing services
↓ Explore the full story
The innovation at the heart of it all
One youth-run safe space, at the centre of everything.
The Youth Resource Centre is a youth-led, community-embedded, non-judgemental safe space in Dakshinpuri. Peer support, family dialogue, and affirmative care all run through it, working toward one goal: parents and children who understand and accept each other.
Three connected prongs, one community-embedded space.
How it all works together
Every stage of the cycle builds toward one central aim: stronger connectedness between young people and their parents.
Stronger family connectedness
the central aim every stage drives toward
🎓1
Train
Youth become certified peer responders
🤝2
Engage
Parents join youth in honest dialogue
🔗3
Connect
Families reach affirmative care together
❤️4
Accept
Parents understand and accept their children
1 · Train
10 Youth Unicorns and 12 Parent Role Models are equipped to lead conversations on mental health and identity at home.
2 · Engage
Intergenerational dialogues bring parents and young people into the same room to listen to each other, often for the first time.
3 · Connect
Families are linked to queer-affirmative services, turning private struggle into shared, supported action.
4 · Accept
Stigma gives way to understanding. Parents accept their children, and connectedness at home grows: the change that lasts.
Explore →
18 Months in Dakshinpuri
The programme journey — phase by phase.
QUTWE evolved from laying foundations and building trust to delivering a fully integrated mental health ecosystem — adapting continuously based on what young people and families needed.
Foundation · Months 1–4
Building trust before building systems.
Community mapping, formation of the Youth Resource Centre, recruitment of 10 Youth Unicorns and 12 Parent Role Models. The YRC was designed to be safe and non-clinical — a space to arrive in, before anything was asked of anyone.
22young leaders trained
8PFA training sessions
Capacity Building · Months 3–7
Youth Unicorns become community mental health leaders.
An intensive Psychosocial First Aid (PFA) programme across 8 structured sessions, paired with regular reflective supervision, grief training, and mental health literacy curriculum. Training in trauma-informed facilitation — not just awareness-raising.
Delivery · Months 5–15
Wellbeing Circles and Workshops reach the cohort.
40+ Wellbeing Circles with peer-led safe discussion on identity, grief, family and mental health. Interactive Workshops reaching 500+ young people, tied to World Health Day, Pride Month, World Mental Health Day. 250+ one-to-one psychosocial support interactions.
383youth in Wellbeing Circles
183parents engaged by PRMs
Family Engagement · Months 6–16
Parents become allies, not bystanders.
12 trained Parent Role Models mobilised caregivers through community conversations — reducing stigma around mental health and opening doors to identity conversations. Crucially, family engagement built on months of trust-building with both youth and parents independently before any joint dialogues.
Intergenerational · Months 12–17
Parents and young people in the same room.
Six Intergenerational Dialogues brought 36 young people and 36 parents together in facilitated conversations — practising active listening, empathy, and open communication. Not to resolve conflict, but to start hearing each other.
6dialogues · 72 participants
45practitioners endorsed shared commitments
Ecosystem · Months 8–18
A referral network and a new measurement tool.
Mapped, engaged and formalised referral pathways with queer-affirmative mental health providers across Delhi. 45 practitioners signed a Statement of Shared Commitments. The programme also developed and validated the PYCS — the first tool of its kind for LGBTQIA+ youth in India, with Cronbach's alpha of 0.92.
Explore →
The story behind the numbers.
Select any section below to read the full detail. Each card gives you a summary up front so you know what's inside.
01
The Challenge
Mental health was unspoken, queer youth were unseen, and there was no public psychiatric facility within 5km of Dakshinpuri.
+9%increase in resilience (ARM-R)
Read more →
i.
Young people had no language for their own minds.
Distress went unnamed and unmet. Mental health was understood as weakness, and few young people knew how to recognise it or seek help.
ii.
At the root: fractured parent-youth relationships.
The deepest driver of distress was disconnection at home. Stigma around identity (SOGIESC) left parents without the language to accept their children, and for many queer young people, home was the least safe place to be known.
iii.
Services were neither youth-friendly nor queer-affirmative.
Where mental health support existed, it was often stigmatising. At the start of the programme, there was no public psychiatric facility within 5 kilometres of Dakshinpuri. LGBTQIA+ youth faced rejection at the very doors meant to help them.
Where Dakshinpuri started
2.78/5
baseline mental health literacy
2.97/5
baseline resilience score
17%
of youth in the high-resilience band
02
What QUTWE Did
A youth-run Resource Centre with 10 Youth Unicorns and 12 Parent Role Models, delivering a three-pronged model of change.
3connected prongs, one community space
Read more →
The Youth Resource Centre (shown above) channels three connected prongs of work. Explore each below.
Select a component to explore
Youth as first responders
Young people trained to hold space for each other.
Youth Unicorns completed a 6-month immersive journey in Psychosocial First Aid, moving from advice-givers to trauma-informed peer facilitators. They then ran Wellbeing Circles, the weekly beating heart of the programme.
🛍
6-month PFA journey
8 training + 10 supervision sessions, certified by IAmWellbeing
◎
16 Wellbeing Circles
Weekly, 8–12 participants, 140 unique youth from Aug 2025
📚
Grief and MH literacy training
Advanced capacity building responding to themes from Circles
🌟
Manotsava, National Mental Health Festival
Youth Unicorns represented QUTWE at national level
Reached through Circles
140
unique young people, 500 planned by April
"The Wellbeing Circle was the first space where being queer didn't feel dangerous."Participant, Dakshinpuri
Parents as allies
Trusted parents, leading change from within families.
12 Parent Role Models were identified, onboarded, and trained through a 4-day intensive at the YRC. They now lead neighbourhood conversations on mental health, stigma, and parent-youth connectedness.
👨👩
12 Parent Role Models onboarded
4-day intensive training (Dec 2025), facilitated by IAmWellbeing
💬
Intergenerational dialogues
Initiated after PRMs complete community awareness sessions
🏠
International Day of Families
35+ parents and youth in open dialogue at YRC
📋
Custom PYCS scale
35-item tool to measure connectedness, alpha 0.92
Parents engaged
208
parents reached, 200 baseline parents entering intergenerational work
"First time they had ever been part of discussions on emotional well-being or identity."Interim Progress Report, 2025
Affirmative services
Building a referral network where none existed.
At the start, there was no public psychiatric facility within 5km of Dakshinpuri. The team mapped 30+ providers and built a curated referral list of queer-affirmative practitioners.
🏥
Ambedkar Hospital psychiatric dept
First public facility in the area, opened Jan 2025, onboarded as referral partner
👥
30+ providers mapped
Landscape study across public, private, and tech-based providers
✅
7 affirmative practitioners onboarded
Pro-bono or sliding-scale terms
📄
Youth-Friendly Index
New tool to assess queer and youth-friendliness of providers
Providers mapped
30+
mental health professionals assessed; 7 affirmative practitioners in referral network
"For LGBTQIA+ youth, the barriers to care are doubled."MH Service Landscape Report, 2025
YRC in the community
Events, visibility, and community presence across the year.
The Youth Resource Centre became a visible anchor in Dakshinpuri, hosting community events, leading a Pride Walk of 100+ through neighbourhood streets, and pushing mental health into public life.
🌎
World Health Day launch, April 2025
50+ community members, formal launch of QUTWE and the YRC
🏳️🌈
Pride Walk, June 2025
100+ participants: "I exist, I matter"
🧠
World Mental Health Day, Oct 2025
55+ community members; youth-led storytelling shifted how parents think
🌐
MHIN Asia Hub membership
Joined Mental Health Innovation Network; Kokoro engaged
Community events
240+
direct reach across 4 major events, plus Pride Walk and digital reach
"Came just to see what the rainbow stuff is about. Later joined the Wellbeing Circle."Pride Month report, June 2025
How change was meant to happen
Train
Equip youth leaders in mental health, SOGIESC, and PFA.
Engage →
Youth lead peer circles; parents join as allies.
Connect →
Link young people to affirmative services.
Shift →
Knowledge rises, families open up, stigma falls.
03
Who We Reached
510 young people and 208 parents reached, with 35% of youth identifying as trans or queer. Every target met or exceeded.
35%of youth were trans or queer
Read more →
35%of youth reached identified as trans or queer. The programme found the young people it was built for.
Reach met or exceeded every target. 510 young people took part against a goal of 500, and 208 parents against a goal of 200, over 700 people in one Delhi neighbourhood.
Youth by gender identity (n = 510)
32.5%
32.2%
12.7%
12%
10.4%
Cis womanCis manTranswomanQueerTransman→ 35% trans or queer
510 / 500
young people, beating target
208 / 200
parents, 61% mothers
16–24
age range, avg 21.5, Dakshinpuri & Tigri
04
A Year of Firsts
16 Wellbeing Circles, a Pride Walk of 100+, 12 Parent Role Models trained, and the first psychiatric facility in Dakshinpuri.
240+direct community reach across 4 events
Read more →
16
Wellbeing Circles run weekly at the YRC from August 2025, reaching 140 unique young people
100+
Pride Walk participants marched through Dakshinpuri: "I exist, I matter"
12
Parent Role Models onboarded and trained through a 4-day intensive at the YRC
30+
Mental health providers mapped; 7 queer-affirmative practitioners in the referral network
0.92
Reliability score on the custom 35-item connectedness scale. A score above 0.9 means the tool consistently measures what it sets out to measure.
240+
Direct community reach across World Health Day, Families Day, Pride, World Mental Health Day
8 of 10
Youth Unicorns identify as LGBTQIA+, selected from 50+ applicants
1st
Psychiatric facility in Dakshinpuri opened at Ambedkar Hospital, Jan 2025, now in the referral network
MHIN
Asia Hub member of the Mental Health Innovation Network; Kokoro global philanthropy platform engaged
Youth Unicorns represented QUTWE at Manotsava, the National Mental Health Festival, sharing programme learnings with national-level stakeholders. Two participant stories were published with consent on restlessdevelopment.org.
05
What Changed
Mental health literacy rose 16%, resilience rose 9%, and confidence in accessing services rose 20%. Parent-reported family warmth also improved significantly.
+16%increase in mental health literacy
Read more →
Each gain below is a building block toward the central aim. As young people grow more confident and less stigmatised, and as parents learn to listen, families move closer together.
Mental health literacy
Young people understand mental health and know how to seek help.
The largest confirmed shift in the programme, measured across the full endline cohort.
+16%5-point scale, MHLS
baseline 2.78endline 3.23
Confidence accessing services & resources
Young people feel more able to reach out and get help.
Confidence attending face-to-face appointments and accessing mental health resources both rose ~20%.
+20%MHLS confidence items
baseline 2.93endline 3.52
Resilience
Young people are more resilient across individual, relational, and community dimensions.
Measured via the Adult Resilience Measure – Revised (ARM-R).
+9%5-point scale, ARM-R
baseline 2.97endline 3.24
Parent-reported family warmth · FAD
Parents report significantly warmer, more emotionally responsive families.
Affective Responsiveness improved (2.63→2.51) and Affective Involvement improved (2.81→2.71) — both significant on the McMaster Family Assessment Device.
+3.5–4.5%FAD, parent-reported
baseline 2.63endline 2.51 (improved)
Parent-child connectedness · the central aim
And it all leads here: families are growing closer.
This is what every other gain builds toward. Connectedness has begun to rise, and with 12 trained Parent Role Models now leading dialogue and the validated PYCS tracking it, the foundation for lasting family change is in place.
+0.7%5-point scale, PYCS
baseline 3.05endline 3.07
An honest note on family functioning
Family functioning (FAD) is not shown as before-and-after here. A coding difference between survey rounds meant the measure was not cleanly comparable, so rather than report a misleading number we set it aside and recommend re-aligning the instrument before the next round.
06
Family Connectedness
The central aim of the whole programme. Connectedness has begun to rise, measured by the only validated parent-child tool built for queer youth in this context (alpha 0.92).
0.92scale reliability score
Read more →
Building stronger families from the inside out.
Changing what happens between a parent and child at home is slow, relational work. QUTWE invested in it seriously: training parents as community role models, opening intergenerational dialogue, and building the only measurement tool designed for this community's reality.
We did not just measure it. We built the only tool designed to measure it in this context.
No validated scale existed that centred queer and trans youth experiences in low-income urban India. So we built one from scratch. The PYCS went through ethics approval, FGDs with 54 community members, three expert reviews, and a pilot with 120 young people before it reached the field.
Development process
✔ Ethics approval received
✔ FGDs: 37 youth + 17 parents
✔ 125-item pool generated
✔ Expert review: 3 specialists
✔ Pilot: 120 young people
✔ Final: 35 items, 3 domains
Scale reliability
0.92 alpha
Cronbach's alpha on the final 35-item scale, indicating high internal reliability.
What this means
A score of 0.92 means the scale's 35 questions consistently measure the same thing. In plain terms: the tool is reliable, and the results can be trusted.
What the scale found: three domains
Domain A
Emotional Attachment and Support
Closeness, care, emotional availability, and ability to share distress with parents.
What the pilot showed
Young people care deeply for their parents while not feeling able to turn to them for emotional support.
Domain B
Autonomy, Control and Acceptance
Decision-making, trust, parental control, and acceptance of choices around appearance, friendships, and relationships.
What the pilot showed
Parental involvement in life decisions coexists with experiences of scolding, control, and social reputation concerns.
Domain C
Support for Perceived LGBTQIA+ Identity
How young people expect parents would respond if they came out: willingness to listen, accept, protect, and advocate. Framed around perceived response because fear shapes behaviour even before disclosure happens.
What the pilot showed
The lowest perceived safety across the scale. Yet some items showed cautious hope: uncertainty rather than absolute rejection, pointing to real entry points for dialogue.
107
mean PYCS score in the pilot (scale: 35 to 175)
53%
of pilot participants scored below the mean, showing variability within the same community
70–167
full score range in the pilot
07
Stories of Change
Six real stories: Seenu, Rohit, Harshita, Karan, Sonia, and Swati, from the participants and Youth Unicorns of Dakshinpuri.
6real participant and Youth Unicorn stories
Read more →
Seenu
He / Him Trans man, 24 Tigri, Delhi
Resilience
“Until we accept ourselves, we can never feel truly peaceful.”
Seenu grew up hearing "why do you act like this, this is not normal." He hid his feelings, pulled away from people, and stayed closeted with parents who could not accept his gender expression. He found the programme at the World Health Day launch. In the Wellbeing Circle he learned that mental health is also about understanding your own identity, and step by step he proudly accepted himself as a trans man.
Rohit
Trans man, 18 Dakshinpuri Warehouse worker
Safe services
“I felt seen and safe in the Resource Centre.”
Rohit lives with a family that does not support his identity. He first came to the Youth Unicorns because he and his partner, seeing no other way to be together, were planning to elope. The Youth Unicorns sat with them, talked through their fear, and connected them to Nazariya and the Naz Foundation. He and his partner went home. Rohit has been part of the Wellbeing Circles ever since.
Harshita
Queer woman, 20 Youth Unicorn
Youth leadership
She holds her identity gently, like something precious.
Growing up in a conservative family, Harshita learned to perform the version of herself everyone expected. QUTWE gave her the space to understand her identity and speak about it without shame. Through PFA training she learned to hold space for herself, then for others. Today she works in Dakshinpuri helping parents understand their children's feelings, so other young people do not feel as alone as she once did.
Karan
He / Him, 21 Youth Unicorn
Youth leadership
The pain that was once his weakness has become his strength.
Karan was bullied with slurs through school. The words chipped at his self-worth and he had no language for who he was. A friend brought him to the programme. Seeing others accept themselves without fear, he felt for the first time that he was not alone. He now works as a Youth Unicorn so no young person feels alone for who they are.
Sonia
Queer bisexual, 23 Youth Unicorn
Youth leadership
“Mental health is not a luxury. It is a basic necessity.”
Sonia grew up in Punjab where her identity could not be discussed. She left for Delhi in 2022 but carried the stress with her, functioning while exhausted inside. Joining Restless Development as a Youth Unicorn, she met people like her and felt accepted without judgment. Today she lives independently in Delhi, sets boundaries, seeks help when she needs it, and spreads mental health awareness around her.
08
Key Insights
Mental health literacy and resilience moved most, family connectedness is on the move and needs sustained investment, and the 6-month PFA design proved essential.
4key learnings from 18 months
Read more →
What worked
A youth-run space made youth-led change possible.
The biggest shifts came where young people led from their own Resource Centre. Peer-to-peer trust opened doors that outside services could not. Capacity cannot be rushed: the 6-month PFA design was essential.
What stood out
Mental health literacy moved fastest of all.
The largest confirmed shift across the programme was a 16% rise in mental health literacy — young people's ability to recognise mental health conditions and know how and where to seek help.
What we invested in deeply
Family change is relational and takes time.
Connectedness and affirmation at home moved steadily. Building the PYCS, training 12 Parent Role Models, and opening intergenerational dialogue are investments that compound in the next phase.
What we learned
Consistent instruments and honest reporting matter.
A coding difference between survey rounds made the family-functioning measure non-comparable. We caught it, reported it honestly, and corrected it for the next round.
What moved most
Mental health literacy
+16%
Confidence in services & resources
+20%
Resilience (ARM-R)
+9%
Resilience (mean)
+9%
LGBTQIA+ affirmation
+5%
Parent-child connectedness
+0.7%
↑ Parent-child connectedness moved steadily, with the full family engagement programme still ahead.
09
Looking Forward
Proven in one community. The Youth Resource Centre model is replicable, the cadre is trained, the scale is validated. Ready for more.
3priorities for the next phase
Read more →
QUTWE was designed as a proof of concept: a test of whether one youth-run safe space could shift mental health, stigma, and family acceptance in a low-resource community. The test returned a clear yes, and a model ready to scale across similar settings in India.
Priority 01
Replicate the Resource Centre model in new communities.
The proof of concept holds. A youth-run safe space is replicable, locally owned, and cost-effective.
Evidence: +16% mental health literacy, +9% resilience, +20% service confidence
Priority 02
Deepen and lengthen family work.
Connectedness moved least. The next investment belongs in sustained intergenerational engagement with families.
These trained young leaders are the engine of the model. Retaining and growing them is how impact compounds.
Evidence: 22 trained leaders, 700+ reached
A model that is ready to travel.
QUTWE started as one question: can a youth-run safe space shift mental health, stigma, and family acceptance in a low-resource community? After 18 months in Dakshinpuri, the answer is yes. The Youth Resource Centre model is replicable. The Youth Unicorn cadre is trained. The Parent-Youth Connectedness Scale is validated and field-tested. The referral network is live. Everything needed to take this to the next community already exists.
Family functioning
12 trained Parent Role Models; intergenerational dialogues initiated; 208 parents assessed at baseline
Parent-child communication
Custom PYCS validated; Domain C tracks communication and openness around identity; PRMs active
Mental health awareness
+16% literacy; +20% service confidence; parent-reported affective warmth significantly improved
Proven at community scale
700+ reached, all targets met; 35% trans or queer; replicable YRC model; MHIN Asia Hub member
Partner with us to take what worked in Dakshinpuri further.
Validated instruments, real sample sizes, transparent reporting. All effect sizes, sample sizes, and scale notes in one place.
5validated instruments, 700+ participants
Read more →
Every claim above rests on validated psychometric instruments and real sample sizes. We are transparent about method and about one issue we caught and corrected.
What we measured
Instrument
n
Baseline
Endline
Shift
Effect size
Mental health literacy (overall)
MHLS
510
2.78
3.23
+16%
d = 1.43
Confidence in services & resources
MHLS (Q18+Q19)
510
2.93
3.52
+20%
d = 0.54
Resilience
ARM-R
506
2.97
3.24
+9%
d = 0.49
Resilience
ARM-R
506
2.97
3.24
+9%
d = 0.49
LGBTQIA+ affirmation
MHLS
510
2.91
3.05
+5%
d = 0.18
Parent-child connectedness
PYCS
502
3.05
3.07
+0.7%
d = 0.07
Parent affective responsiveness
FAD (parent)
208
2.63
2.51
+4.5%
d = 0.33
Parent affective involvement
FAD (parent)
208
2.81
2.71
+3.5%
d = 0.21
Design. Baseline and endline were independent samples (repeated cross-section), so shifts describe community-level change, not within-person tracking. Effect sizes above 0.8 are large; 0.5 medium; 0.2 small.
FAD note. The Family Assessment Device runs higher = less healthy functioning (McMaster convention). Improvements show as a falling score. Item 31 was not collected in either wave; General Functioning is scored on 11 of its 12 items. Baseline and endline were administered to independent samples (repeated cross-section design).
Custom PYCS. The Parent-Youth Connectedness Scale was developed by Restless Development India: 3-phase mixed-methods process, FGDs with 37 youth and 17 parents, piloted with 120 participants, final 35 items, Cronbach's alpha 0.92.
Supported by
Explore →
Deep Evidence
How we know — and what it tells us.
QUTWE used three overlapping analyses (matched individual, unmatched group, full-sample group) and grounded findings in the COM-B behaviour change framework. Here is what each layer shows.
The COM-B framework: how change happens
QUTWE's four outcomes were never four unrelated targets. They sit on a single theory of change: Capability (literacy) must precede Motivation (resilience), which creates the conditions for Opportunity (family communication), which accumulates over time into parent–youth connectedness. The two outcomes that have not yet reached significance are precisely the two the theory identifies as requiring the longest sustained exposure — not a failure of the model, but a predictable pattern consistent with the evidence base on relational, dyadic outcomes.
Capability
Mental Health Literacy
+16%
Young people can recognise distress, name it, and know where to go. 86.7% of matched participants improved. Highly significant across all three analyses. The foundation everything else rests on.
Motivation
Resilience (ARM-R)
+9%
The capacity to draw on personal, relational and community resources. 66.9% of matched youth improved. Statistically significant. Built through Wellbeing Circles and sustained peer support — not a training outcome.
Opportunity
Family Communication (FAD)
55%
55.3% of matched parents showed improved family functioning. Parent affective responsiveness improved significantly (d=0.33). Family change takes longer — by design, intergenerational work began in month 12, limiting its window to mature in the proof of concept period.
Three overlapping analyses — all telling the same story
Each analysis has different strengths and limitations. The consistency across all three is what gives the findings their weight.
Analysis 1
Matched Individual Pairs Most precise; limited to the ~51% with traceable records
MHLS literacy86.7% improved
ARM-R resilience66.9% improved
FAD (parent)55.3% improved
FAD (youth)49.0% improved
PYCS connectedness50.9% improved
Analysis 2
Unmatched Group: Baseline-only vs Endline-only Community-level trend across those not individually traceable
MHLS: 2.76 → 3.24Significant ✓
ARM-R: 3.03 → 3.25Significant ✓
FAD parent: 2.53 → 2.50Improving
FAD youth: 2.52 → 2.51Flat
PYCS: 3.10 → 3.10Flat
Analysis 3
Full-Sample Group: All Baseline vs All Endline Broadest picture; primary, most defensible figure
MHLS: 2.78 → 3.23+16%, d=1.43 ✓
ARM-R: 2.97 → 3.24+9%, d=0.49 ✓
FAD parent: overallAffective subs. sig.
FAD youth: 2.51 → 2.51Flat
PYCS: 3.05 → 3.07+0.7%
Explore →
The Case for Scale
Why this model is ready — and where it goes next.
QUTWE was designed as a proof of concept. That proof now holds. The Youth Resource Centre model is replicable, locally owned, and cost-effective. The evidence base is strong enough, and the partnerships are ready enough, to take it to the next three communities.
Reason 01
The evidence base holds across three independent analyses.
MHLS and resilience improvements are statistically significant and consistent across matched, unmatched and full-sample analyses. This is not a single-study result — it is a finding that survived multiple analytical tests, which is precisely what GCC's Transition-to-Scale phase requires before funding a wider rollout.
Reason 02
The model is replicable by design — not dependent on one team.
Youth Unicorns are trained to a structured, documented curriculum. The PFA programme, supervision model, Wellbeing Circle facilitation guide, and PYCS measurement tool all exist as transferable assets. The YRC is a space model, not an individual — it can be stood up in any urban informal settlement with a trained cohort.
Reason 03
Longer duration = stronger family outcomes — the theory predicts it.
The COM-B model, implementation science (Durlak & DuPre, 2008), and Bloom's Taxonomy all predict that relational outcomes lag individual ones when built on a later-starting engagement phase. PYCS and FAD are moving in the right direction. A longer window is the evidence-based lever for converting them into significant results.
The next three geographies
Same relational core. Three new communities.
Delhi
Dakshinpuri
LGBTQIA+ youth · Urban resettlement colony
Deepen the validated model — strengthen parent engagement, build national research linkages, and develop a comparison-group evidence base.
Partners: Basic Foundation · Sweekar – The Rainbow Parents · UNICEF Global MH Hub
Bengaluru
Waste-Picker Communities
Informal economy workers · Hasirudala network
Test and contextualise the model in a new marginalised urban setting — different identity pressures, same relational approach.
Validate community delivery while opening a direct pathway into government systems — SHSRC-Kerala and the Adolescent Health division are already engaged.
Partners: iLab · Dakshin Foundation · Vanjana Collective · Mariwala Health Initiative
Explore →
Beyond the Numbers
A community ecosystem that outlasts the project.
QUTWE did not just run activities — it built infrastructure. A referral network, a validated measurement tool, a shared set of commitments, and trained practitioners who remain in the community after the programme ends.
Statement of Shared Commitments — endorsed by 45 practitioners and organisations
Every young person has the right to safe, respectful, confidential and non-discriminatory mental health services, irrespective of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Mental health services should be queer-affirmative, youth-friendly, and responsive to the social and economic realities young people face.
Accessibility includes affordability — mental health systems must reduce financial and structural barriers to care.
Parent-youth connectedness, where safe and guided by the young person's wishes, should be recognised as a protective factor and reflected in counselling approaches.
Young people's autonomy, confidentiality and informed consent remain central to all mental health care.
Cross-sector collaboration — between communities, peer supporters, families and practitioners — strengthens pathways to care.
Continuous learning and evidence-informed practice are essential for inclusive, affirmative mental health services.
One of India's oldest LGBTQIA+ organisations. Face-to-face and telephonic counselling, referral services, HIV testing, PrEP/PEP. Sliding-scale fees. East of Kailash, New Delhi.
Qafila: Psychosocial Support & Research
Collective · 30+ counsellors and psychologists
Low-cost and pay-what-you-can individual therapy. Listening circles, reading circles, community group spaces. Grounded in psychosocial and psychoanalytic thinking.
I Am Wellbeing (Nairatmya Foundation)
Trauma-informed · 10 psychologists
Trauma-informed care for underserved communities. Individual counselling, group psychosocial interventions, community-based services. Collaborating with QUTWE on ACE research.
Psych & Me (Japneet Kaur) & Independent Practitioners
Queer-affirmative · CBT, DBT, ACT
Referral network also includes Dr Sohini Banerjee, Yasha Malhotra, Parul Gupta (A Little Undone), Dinika Anand (BLK Max Hospital), and Bhanu Kharbanda (Mannlagaake) — all queer-affirmative or queer-friendly practitioners.
PYCS — A Contribution to the Field
A validated tool where none existed before.
The Parent–Youth Connectedness Scale (PYCS) was developed through five FGDs with 37 young people and 17 parents, expert review, piloting with 120 respondents, and iterative statistical refinement. The final 35-item, 3-domain instrument achieved a Cronbach's alpha of 0.92. It is the first validated, context-specific tool to measure connectedness for LGBTQIA+ young people in India — and is now available to researchers and practitioners working on family-centred mental health interventions across the country.
