Sometimes the answer isn't another stupid app.
People need to understand that you can't fix being suicidal by love or buying things.
Simple things, like being broke, and not having a job. Or being rejected by your love prospects. Are reasons why people kill themselves too.Being on a negative spiral, and a number of things going wrong and finding yourself in a desperate situation is pretty common thing.
If you provide hope, and path to something better, there just might be quite a few people that would take it.
Oh right but providing better mental healthcare doesn't allow for people to receive bogus investements for their overhyped app and make millions.
That's why it's not an option.
Social prescribing is a thing for good reasons.
While I understand you're trying to be helpful, what you need to understand is that suicidal ideation and "feeling rejected by your society" are not synonymous. There can be a relationship, sure- but suicide, by and large, comes from a mentality where the victim legitimately believes they will not ever be happy enough in the future to counter-balance the pain that's consuming them in the present. In their despair, they truly believe that suicide is the only way they can end the suffering. In their minds, this is quite literally their only hope. To say that this is caused by feeling rejected by society is extremely narrow, so please be aware of that.
This having been said, trying to begin a relationship while in the throes of depression is not a good idea. If you can't love yourself, it sows the seeds for a highly unhealthy dependent or codependent relationship- even someone who isn't actively considering ending their life can't thrive like that.
Finally, consider this: let's say the person using this app is indeed suicidal because they feel like they've been rejected by society- dating apps are infamous for short-lived relationships, rejection, and predatory subscription models (search hn and you will find any number of threads discussing this last one). Even if this is a truly altruistic service without a predatory subscription model, what do you think someone who is in the depths of despair will do if they're rejected by a community that markets itself as a haven for the rejected? If they weren't at the very edge of suicide before, how much closer did they just get pushed?
In short, be aware that there's a fair bit more going on than "maybe they feel lonely." I suspect this approach would do more harm than good.
They might not be great at addressing it yet, but they do know it's a problem.
if someone told me they had a serious plan to kill themselves on a first date, I would be more likely to try to get them help than to plan a second date. if they told me they periodically have suicidal thoughts, I would consider that a bit of an overshare, but not necessarily a dealbreaker. there are worse problems a partner could have.
About 4% of the US population has suicidal thoughts (source CDC)
Its not leprosy, these are just thoughts. That will go away for most people. Or might come and go, same way as you might get sick at some points in your life.
If the people having these thoughts are really suicidal, then there really is a serious risk of them committing suicide, which makes what they're thinking not "just thoughts".
Also, while it may not be leprosy, one's thoughts and world view can seriously affect your partner. Partners committing suicide together does happen, and even when only one of them does it can be devastating for the other, and even if they don't being in a relationship with a suicidal partner can be heartbreaking.
I would seriously think twice, and three times even, before dating someone who was suicidal. IMO, suicidal people need to seriously get their lives together and overcome their issues with therapy before dating, or they risk ruining not only their own lives and that of their own family, but that of their partner and their family as well.
Honestly, I don't see relationships as any kind of solution to suicidal ideation. Even when only one of the partners is not suicidal, the relationship has a good chance of ending very badly for both of them.
People who are suicidal need a therapist, not a date.