Founded in September 2017, Suicide Prevention India Foundation (SPIF), is a Section-8 not-for-profit, that was incubated at IIM-Bangalore.
SPIF believes that suicide is the most preventable form of death and that suicidal behavior is understandable as a universal psychological, biological, social, spiritual and cultural phenomenon. There are many evidence-based interventions to curb the menace.
At the core of SPIF’s approach to suicide prevention is a WHO-recommended suicide prevention strategy called the Gatekeeper training. For which, it has a tie-up with QPR Institute, the world leader in suicide prevention training.
QPR Gatekeeper training constitutes questioning, persuading and referring the suicidal individual to a mental health professional.
"SPIF aims to create a community base for organizations and individuals involved or interested in awareness creation, self-care, research, advocacy, training and suicide prevention to come and fight suicide together."
Nelson Vinod Moses is a freelance journalist who writes on mental health and social entrepreneurship. His writing has appeared in Fortune, Forbes, The Times of India, Quartz, HuffingtonPost, Businessworld, Business Standard and YourStory.
He’s a founding Managing Trustee of Prafull Oorja, a non-profit that provides yoga training and services to under-resourced populations, including special needs children, rural women and youth.
"Nelson’s best friend Ryan Bennett died of suicide, this made a profound impact on him and over the years he has been researching and understanding mental health, suicide awareness and suicide prevention. Suicide Prevention India Foundation is the fruition of that journey."
A comprehensive approach spanning direct intervention, clinical training, public awareness, and empirical research.
This includes training individuals from the community and working with schools, colleges, startups, corporations, and mental health professionals that is customised for various stakeholders.
For mental health professionals, SPIF offers advanced training related to triage assessment (for suicidality) and counsel those with suicide ideation and suicidal behaviors.
This is done through talks, workshops, social media, blogs, media articles and guides designed to dismantle stigma and spread literacy.
We publish original research to plug gaps in the understanding of the Indian mental health and suicide prevention ecosystem.
Actionable steps taken daily to shift the paradigm of mental health in India.
Create content that highlights the problem, current gap, possible solutions, mental health self-care, suicide survivor stories, latest research, where to seek help and how to help somebody who’s suicidal.
Educate schools, colleges, workplaces and larger society about suicide awareness and prevention, and how to avert a crisis by dealing with depression, anxiety, stress through self-care and psychological first-aid.
Teach individuals how to respond to somebody who’s suicidal or has suicide ideation through content, training, workshops, gatekeeper program (online and offline), partnerships, and assessments.
Impart knowledge through multimedia content disseminated through mainstream media, blogs and through social media on how to best take care of oneself so that depression, anxiety and stress can be avoided or dealt with effectively.
Engage with the government to create and enforce a nationwide suicide prevention policy and an introduction of a single toll-free for suicide crisis helplines.
For corporate partnerships, workshop inquiries, media requests, or general foundation questions, our team is ready to connect.
Contact SPIF