The COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictive measures for the containment of the infection (lockdown, school closures, social distancing – later renamed by World Health Organisation as “physical distancing“) have revolutionized the lives of children and adolescents.
For some time to come this will continue to require a distortion or modification of habits, rhythms, and life patterns. The absence of school, recreational, play and sports activities during the period 2020 – 2021 has forced thousands of boys and girls to stay at home, with repercussions that are still difficult to quantify.
The LETsTALK project aims to strengthen the capacity of youth workers in supporting young peoples’ mental health with focus on gender sensitive approach to mental health issues. Following the deterioration of mental health care during the two years of the pandemic, the project primarily develops personal and social competences of youth workers to better understand and support children and youth’s mental health with special sensitivity for gender differences, as they seem to be a crucial factor in tailoring the mental health interventions for young people.
In the upcoming months the project partners will create, through desk and field research in Croatia, Greece, Serbia, and Italy, a policy recommendation document aimed toward policy makers as well as managers and experts in the field of youth mental health and youth education.
Highlighting the importance of a gender-sensitive approach in the field of youth mental health, the document will explain the difference we see in young women and men facing mental health problems and help them adapt and implement effective policies and strategies to address existing problems and provide needed support systems.
Visit the project website to learn about the activities of LETs TALK!
LETsTALK – DEVELOPING GENDER SENSITIVE MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM FOR YOUNG PEOPLE is a project financed by the program ERASMUS+KA: Cooperation partnerships in youth, and wants to strengthen the capacity of youth workers in supporting young peoples’ mental health with focus on gender sensitive approach to mental health issues.
Partners
- Coordinator: FORUM ZA SLOBODU ODGOJA, Croatia
- KENTRO MERIMNAS OIKOGENEIAS KAI PAIDIOU, Greece
- CENTRO PER LO SVILUPPO CREATIVO DANILO DOLCI, Italy
- Centar za omladinski rad, Serbia
For further information read the project factsheet and visit the website https://letstalk-project.eu/.
Contact Katarina Vuksan: katarina.vuksan@danilodolci.org.