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Treat Yourself III

2025-2-SK02-KA153-YOU-0003667572025Mobility of youth workersongoing
Countries: SK|PT|IT|LT|BG|RO|TR|MK · Grant: €24,694
Physical and mental health, well-beingQuality and innovation of youth work

Objectives

Youth workers play a crucial role in supporting the well-being and development of young people. However, working with young people facing challenges such as mental health issues or substance abuse can take a significant emotional toll. Witnessing the hardships faced by youth can lead to emotional exhaustion and burnout among youth workers. Research shows that over 64% of youth workers in Europe report symptoms of work-related stress and emotional fatigue (European Youth Work Study, 2022). Mental Health Europe (2023) further highlights that 1 in 3 youth workers feel insufficiently trained or supported in managing these emotional demands. The central focus of the project revolves around the integration of holistic self-care methods into the daily lives of youth workers. Recognizing the demanding nature of their roles, firstly, our aim is to support these dedicated persons by introducing comprehensive approaches to well-being that encompass the physical, mental, and emotional dimensions. Secondly, the acquired knowledge will enable youth workers to integrate appropriate self care methods into their own daily life, as well as transfer their knowledge and wellbeing practices to the youth. Thirdly, this project will comprise multiple non-profit organizations from different countries with different social, cultural and economic backgrounds. Their main role in the project will be to share their own understanding of holistic wellbeing and self care as well as good practices.The project will be to strengthen the organizational capacity of youth NGOs by introducing emotional wellbeing strategies. Each partner organization will be encouraged to develop internal staff support practices, workshops, and wellbeing tools, which will help youth workers apply holistic wellbeing methods in their work with young people. Therefore, our objectives are: To introduce holistic well-being practices from each partner country to share knowledge nationally and internationally, identify good practices, and explore their application in youth work to support youth workers' well-being at both personal and organizational levels. To improve youth workers' self-awareness and competencies by enabling them to create personalized holistic self-care strategies. This will result in the development of an original "Holistic Wellbeing Code," a practical written guide integrating daily self-care routines for emotional, mental, and physical resilience in youth work contexts. To transfer and disseminate acquired knowledge to other youth workers and young people by organizing an local activities to ensure that the gained skills, new methods, and expertise are widely shared and implemented across different local realities. To enhance the capacities of newcomer and less-experienced organizations by providing structured mentoring throughout the project, ensuring knowledge transfer, stronger organizational well-being strategies, and increased quality of youth work practices post-project. Moreover, Treat Yourself III is an updated evolution of our successful 2021 and 2023 Treat Yourself projects, now addressing feedback and lessons learned by emphasizing practical application and organizational integration. The project particularly aligns with Youth Goal 5 (Mental Health and Wellbeing) and supports the European Health Union initiative by promoting parity between mental and physical health in youth work.By embedding well-being as a daily practice, Treat Yourself III will create more resilient, supportive, and effective youth workers, directly enhancing the quality of services they deliver to young people. It will also ensure that mental health is not treated as an isolated issue but as an essential and natural part of everyday youth work, empowering youth organizations to sustainably support the young people they serve. 1- https://health.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-06/com_2023_298_1_act_en.pdf

Project partners (8)