The overall aim of the project “Mindspace: Mental health in youth work” is to raise awareness about youth mental health among youth workers and youth themselves, and to build youth workers' capacity, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to effectively support young people's mental well-being. Our strategy was to develop and disseminate a practical methodology, the Mindspace program. This program would allow youth work organizations to integrate mental health support into their existing activities. The goal was for Mindspace to be an evidence-based and easy-to-implement methodology, drawing on the principles of non-formal education and youth work. We hoped to encourage the widespread adoption of these practices within youth work settings, while fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange among participating organizations across different countries. Beyond the immediate project goals, we also aimed to gain experience with the Erasmus+ program. This included building capacity within our youth work partnership and fostering stronger connections for future collaborations. Ultimately, we sought to share experiences, broaden general knowledge about the Erasmus+, and contribute to the overall growth of all partners involved.
We recognized a growing need for increased awareness and support regarding youth mental health within the youth work sector. Many youth workers felt inadequately equipped to address the mental health challenges faced by young people. Also, mental health support was often not systematically integrated into existing youth work programs. As an organization focused on mental health, we wanted to get the opportunity to collaborate with organizations with more experience in youth work, to involve other professions as well as youth themselves, that we believe can contribute to co-create and test a a sustainable tool for youth work organizations to integrate mental health support into their ongoing activities. We applied for this project not only due to a lack of applicable and sustainable youth work programs addressing youth mental health promotion and prevention, but also because we believe that in a time of rapid change, where the need for constant adaptation becomes ever more crucial, creating diverse forms of support for young people becomes a question of flexibility and creativity through the combined efforts of different professionals.