Mental Health Programs
Affordable solutions for youth, community and the elderly that work and scale easily.
Key Programs
UDAAN
Community-driven district mental health program in Nagpur.
PANI
Empowering rural youth and women via mental health training in Uttar Pradesh.
THE GOODNESS WEB
Funding innovative youth mental health projects in USA.
EMPOWER
Building health system capacity for the prevention and care of mental health problems.
Mental Health Awareness
Mental health is likely the most stigmatized, most prevalent and yet, least funded health issue worldwide. In 2017, a World Health Organization (WHO) study reported that 1 in 7 persons have experienced some type of mild or severe mental ailment.
Adding to the complexity is the stigma, ignorance and limited treatment options for mental illnesses.
We focus on affordable solutions for youth, community and the elderly that work and scale easily. Specifically, our grassroots approach seeks to strengthen the caregivers and social services, educate families and communities, and create an access path for both common and serious mental health care.
Our programs aim to provide early intervention, timely care and continued support through awareness and accessible solutions.
Mental Health : By the Numbers
has experienced mental illness worldwide
%
of all diseases are mental health related
million Indians need mental care
%
of India's youth exhibit mental health issues
UDAAN
Udaan, established in 2018, is a district mental health program that seeks to dramatically improve the level of mental health care through community training and caregiver supplementation, using the existing structures.
Indira Foundation assumed full funding for Udaan in 2023 for an ongoing district-wide pilot project in Nagpur (Maharashtra state, India) covering 4.5 million people. Udaan includes screening, triage and clinical services, awareness campaigns, capacity training for medical personnel, social rehab and community services and referral to government hospitals in case of severe disease.
We have received a formal invitation from the Chief Minister of Maharashtra support Udaan’s expansion into the neighboring Wardha district.
Impact and Reach: To date, Udaan has screened 50% of the population and held monthly community education meetings and counselling sessions for mild and moderate cases.
It has also established pathways for patients with severe disease to treatment and medications at accessible government clinics.
PANI (People’s Action for National Integration)
Founded in 1986, PANI empowers rural communities with a special focus on women, adolescent girls, farmers and the most marginalized and poorest sections of society.
PANI’s programs reach 2.5 million households in 25 districts in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar.
Indira Foundation has partnered with PANI since 2023 for mental healthcare programs for youth in poor rural districts of India’s Uttar Pradesh state.
The two-step program trains community non-specialists to screen and counsel mild and moderate cases and refer severe cases to mental health specialists. Yet another program empowers adolescent girls, earning PANI workers credibility and respect in the community.
Social Reach and Impact: A pilot in one (1) district in Uttar Pradesh with non-specialists training and triage for mild, moderate and severe cases.
THE GOODNESS WEB
Founded in USA in 2017, The Goodness Web wants a world where every young person has access to relationships, affordable care, and tools that are the building blocks for mental health.
Indira Foundation is a part of its community of partners and donors who pool resources and expertise to fund the most promising mental health initiatives for youth and their caregivers in the USA.
EMPOWER
Empower is part of the Mental Health for All Lab at Harvard Medical School, focused on building health system capacity for the prevention and care of mental health problems, across the life course, globally.
Indira Foundation funds a program to develop open-source curricula and training for past patients to lend support to others living with severe mental illness as peer service providers.
Other Funded Mental Health Programs
Indira Foundation plays a strategic role in supporting a variety of mental health initiatives beyond its flagship programs.
Shrimad Rajchandra Mission at Dharmapur
A charitable organization to strengthen tribal health systems through integrated service delivery and capacity building.
Indira Foundation funds its mental health support for the wellbeing of the communities with special emphasis on psychosocial welfare on women, children and families. The hub-and-spoke model uses (i) specialists at the organization’s hospital (hub), and (ii) rural outreach via trained community health workers (spokes).
Ekjut
A grassroots organization that aims to improve maternal and child health in underserved regions through community participation, learning and action. Since 2024, Indira Foundation funds Ekjut’s initiatives to incorporate youth-focused mental health into community care using participatory activities.
PATH
A global nonprofit that seeks to improve health equity with a focus on scalable solutions in public health systems.
Indira Foundation funds PATH’s youth-focused mental programs to integrate psychosocial care into primary health platforms in Chikkaballapura district in Karnataka.
YASHAS
A youth-focused suicide prevention initiative program led by NIMHANS (India’s leading national mental health institute) and funded by Indira Foundation since 2023.
It starts with interventions in 16 public hospitals and uses risk screening, brief counselling and follow-up to reduce repeat attempts. Early results show repeat attempts dropped to just 1.19% in 20,000 registered cases.
Across Our Initiatives
Discover impactful moments from Indira Foundation’s diverse programs—spanning education, mental health, community empowerment, and youth outreach—each image capturing stories of hope and positive change.
