Mental Health in Youth Work

The three focus areas are tackled on a very practical level. The project aims to reach a great number of youth workers through online and offline activities. At the same time, young people are invited to participate in some activities, to get first-hand information and to be motivated to adopt peer-to-peer approaches.

Awareness-raising activities aim to shift attitudes towards mental health and remove the stigma around it. The project also aims to shift the focus from discussing mental health problems onto promoting mental health and preventing issues.

Mental health can be supported by practical choices in life. Being aware of the impact of life choices can help us choose the right working methods for ourselves. As youth workers change their attitudes towards wellbeing, they can share the practice with young people.

All partner countries ran preparatory activities on the national level before the project was started. Every country mapped existing services and material for young people’s mental health in their countries. At the same time relevant expert organisations and youth work organisations gave insight to what kind of needs exist in youth work and within young people.

We brought representatives of the expert organisations to the Kick-Off Event of the long-term project in June 6th - 10th, 2022 in Kirkkonummi, Finland. We compared the results of different countries and had insight to the topic on European level. The expert organisations guided us to focus on the three areas, that you see above.

We will consult our participants and the expert organisations so that we know what is needed and what we should provide. We aim to answer to a need on the field and have real impact on youth work.