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About the Burnout

2025-3-LT02-KA153-YOU-0003833682025Mobility of youth workersongoing
Countries: LT|BG|AT|SE|IT|MK|ES|TR|RS|RO|CZ|DE|EL · Grant: €32,373
Physical and mental health, well-beingInclusion of marginalised young peopleQuality and innovation of youth work

Objectives

This project addresses the urgent need to support youth workers’ mental health across Europe. Across multiple studies, it has been found that between 21% and 67% of mental health professionals may experience high levels of burnout (Morse, Salyers, Rollins, Monroe-DeVita, & Pfahler, 2012). During our Erasmus+ KA220 ADULT project All About the Burnout (2022–2023, 2021-1-LT01-KA220-ADU-000028407), we saw how resilience, mindfulness, and wellbeing tools improve motivation, performance, and workplace culture. Many of these practices are directly transferable to the youth work field, where stress risks are high but structural support is often lacking. Consultations with 70 youth workers from the 13 partner organisations confirmed that many face high emotional demands, especially when working with NEETs, refugees, and young people with mental health challenges. Often employed on short-term, project-based contracts, youth workers report job insecurity, blurred personal–professional boundaries, and limited access to supervision or mentoring. As a result, many experience long hours, emotional fatigue, and burnout—leading to staff turnover and lower-quality support for young people. One Lithuanian worker shared that, after managing back-to-back projects, she lost her capacity for empathy—highlighting the urgency to act. If youth work is to remain inclusive and empowering, we must invest in the wellbeing of those who deliver it. This project responds to a clear need: to provide youth workers with the tools to manage stress, maintain motivation, and continue inspiring the young people they support. The project supports Erasmus+ priorities on inclusion, diversity, participation, and Youth Goal #5 on mental health. Objectives: 1. Training & Capacity Building: By mid-July 2026, train 29 youth workers (2-3 per organisation, 40% with fewer opportunities) in Lithuania through a 7-day residential course + 2 travel days, equipping them with burnout-prevention, resilience-building, and wellbeing tools adapted from KA220. 2. Toolkit Creation: By November 2026, co-create a Digital Wellbeing Toolkit for Youth Work with at least 12 non-formal methods (e.g. mindfulness, peer coaching, digital detox, resilience practices), tested during the mobility and adapted to NGO realities. 3. Multiplier Events: From September to December 2026, deliver 13 national multiplier workshops (1 per partner), reaching at least 195 youth workers in total, promoting toolkit use and sharing project results. 4. Learning Impact: Ensure that at least 75% of participants report improved confidence in managing stress and applying wellbeing tools, measured through pre/post surveys, Youthpass reflection, and learning diaries. 5. Inclusion: Guarantee that at least 40% of youth worker participants are from fewer opportunity backgrounds (e.g. rural, minority, with mental health challenges, or economically disadvantaged). 6. Sustainability: Maintain an online peer-support network (WhatsApp) with 20+ active members, continuing exchange until at least the end of December 2027—one year after the official project end. 7. Policy Contribution: Produce 13 one-page national policy recommendation sheets on supporting youth worker wellbeing, shared during the final online conference and uploaded to the Erasmus+ Results Platform. Project Activities: The central activity is a 7-day international training course in Lithuania, where 29 youth workers from 13 countries will learn practical wellbeing and resilience tools. Non-formal methods will include mindfulness, stress-awareness activities, peer coaching, and digital wellbeing strategies. The training focuses on both personal development and organisational change, helping participants bring new practices back to their NGOs. Learning will be documented via Youthpass, reflection diaries, and surveys, showing measurable outcomes. Outputs & Impact: 1. A key outcome is the Digital Wellbeing Toolkit—a 30-page resource with 12+ methods for individual and group use. These include breathing techniques, resilience mapping, digital detox exercises, and peer mentoring models. The toolkit will be published via the Erasmus+ Results Platform, SALTO Toolbox, and partner websites, with executive summaries translated into partners' languages to improve accessibility. We aim for 1,000+ users in the first year post-publication. 2. To ensure broad impact, all 13 partners will host national multiplier workshops by the end of 2026. These events will engage 195 additional youth workers through toolkit presentations and resilience mini-sessions, collecting feedback from local contexts. National policy briefs will summarise key recommendations and be presented at a final online conference. 3. The peer-support network (via WhatsApp) will maintain active knowledge-sharing through 2027. This low-cost, low-barrier structure ensures that connections, learning, and motivation continue beyond the project’s funded period.

Project partners (13)