Youth Work 4 Mental Health

Youth Work 4 Mental Health makes mental well-being a priority for youth organisations. A training course for 27 youth workers from eight countries builds the structured approaches, resources and confidence needed to open conversations about mental health in everyday youth work.

Why this project

According to UNICEF, around nine million adolescents aged 10 to 19 in Europe live with mental disorders, most commonly anxiety and depression. Many youth organisations still lack the tools, knowledge and structured spaces to address this.

Objectives

• Break the silence and stigma around mental health in youth organisations.
• Equip youth workers with structured approaches and practical resources.
• Create open, inclusive and supportive environments for young people.
• Embed mental health support in the routine practice of partner organisations.

Activities

• An international training course for 27 participants, including three project team members.
• 'Mental Health Elaborated' discussions in each participating country, online and offline.
• Development of a Mental Health Good Practices handbook.
• Follow-up activities embedding new practice in partner organisations.

Expected results

These are the results the project set out to produce. They are commitments made in the application, not outcomes already achieved.

• A Mental Health Good Practices handbook for youth organisations.
• 27 youth workers trained in mental health support approaches.
• National discussion events in each participating country.
• Greater organisational readiness to address mental health.

Who it is for

Youth workers at all levels of experience; youth organisations; young people supported by those organisations.