The purpose of our project was to bring relevant improvements to youth work by addressing serious educational needs that we have identified within the local realities of the project partners. WHY WE CARRIED THE PROJECT: Adolescence is a major, transformative time in life. Positive mental health can ease young people’s emotional and social inclusion and transition into society. Nevertheless, 1 in 5 youth in Europe are affected by at least one mental and psychological issue every year. Depression is the main cause of mental affections among young people and suicide is the second main cause of death in young people between 15-29 years old (according to a 2020 research of Mental Health Europe network organization). Although so important and crucial, young people’s mental health has been often overlooked. In the context of the world events (post Pandemic and war in Ukraine) the Regional Office of the World Health Organization is pointing out that the main psychological impact of these events includes high rates of stress or anxiety, loneliness, depression, increased violence on self and others, harmful alcohol and drug use, and suicidal behavior. And unfortunately, the high burden and impact of mental disorders among adolescents in Europe is expected to rise. It might be reasonable to expect that a potentially severe mental health ‘pandemic’ will follow. The social inequalities that preexisted are now amplified by the pandemic situation. In Europe, researchers already showed through an extensive analysis that the ISSUES of Mental Health and Social Exclusion are closely linked. Bad mental health increases social exclusion, loss of social contacts and sociability and vice versa. NEEDS: In this context two NEEDS arose imperatively: the need to empower the mental health of youth and their social inclusion, particularly of the ones who are hard to reach. The Top 3 Needs of youth workers that we have identified and addressed throughout the project: -Need for innovative methodology for social inclusion of hard to reach young people -Need for new methodology to manage, support and guide the mental health of youth -Need for new methodology of individual and group youth work that can be done online, from distance. Top 3 Needs of hard to reach youth: -Need for regulating their overwhelming emotions and states -Need for knowing themselves acknowledging their own strengths, talents, gifts, abilities, resources -Need for belonging and feel worthy. The REASON we wanted to carry this project was because we wanted to address the rising needs of youth workers and hard to reach youth, especially in the light of the post pandemic time and having a war in Europe. We wanted to do so by introducing the innovative combination of Nonviolent Communication in an Ecocentric Educational Context in youth work. With this purpose we created ‘The Way of the Heart’ that AIMed at cultivating and straightening the capacities of youth workers to offer transformational and purposeful learning opportunities for social inclusion of hard to reach youth (including youth with mental health issues) by using Nonviolent Communication in an Ecocentric Educational Context. At the end of the project 26 youth workers: 1.Enhanced by 75% their degree of understanding the profile, characteristics and particularities of hard to reach youth and the effects of social exclusion on the individual and the collective. 2.Enhanced by 75% their competences (knowledge, skills and attitudes) related to the Nonviolent Communication practices and their benefits for hard to reach youth. 3.Increased by 75% their degree of understanding the use and benefits of Ecocentric Education that stimulates the learning, participation, inclusion, connection and empowerment of hard to reach youth. 4.Increased by 75% their acquaintance of facilitating innovative self-expression non-formal methodologies through online tools for guiding and empowering hard to reach youth.