Alarmed by seeing a rise in mental health issues among their peers, a group of students has stepped up to form a peer support group for youths in need.

Already a year old, the initiative Solace Haven started as a desire to help friends who were facing such problems by lending an ear or a shoulder to cry on.

Today, the group of 20 volunteers has assisted 110 youths, who reach out to them, Solace Haven founder Hashmitha Selvam said.

“These issues are so viral (on social media) but it's not spoken about as much as it should. So, I thought I needed to do something about this so that everyone is aware of it.

“I don't know how many of my followers (on Instagram) or my friends are going through hardship. So I thought maybe if I start this, I could help them. Also then...