Our telephonic conversation with trans activist Madhu, who prefers to go by her first name only, is peppered with minor interruptions: phone calls on the toll-free helpline that she mans at the SPACE Community Centre at Kashmere Gate, New Delhi. She politely offers to call us back. "It's not something I can attend to later," she says. "Because, sometimes, it's a question of pulling back somebody from the brink of suicide." Not all callers may be suicidal though. Some are battling existential angst, and need someone to clear up the fog in their head.

Here for you

Madhu, along with two other members of the non-profit, field calls on the national hotline, 1800111015, titled You Are Not Alone from 10 am to 6 pm every day. It's a pilot initiative that was launched in the capital on August 1 to offer mental health assistance and counselling to members of the LGBTQi community across the country. That help is needed more than ever is something that Anjan Nag, director of the NGO, realised when six trans people, who were associated with their community efforts, committed suicide in a span of 30 days this year. "It was a jolt," Nag remembers. "The reason for the suicides were mainly linked to mental health problems." As an NGO, they have been around for the last 18 years and the primary thrust of their effort has been in areas such as healthcare and HIV. "We realised that we were neglecting a crucial aspect: mental health. There is still a lot of stigma attached to non-binary identities. Often, people have nobody to turn to." Given that it's a new programme, the team is still testing waters. At the time of the launch, the team set up kiosks at college campuses and hospitals to raise awareness, and continue to popularise the initiative on social media.