The participants of our project are youth workers from 13 organizations from 11 countries of Europe and the Middle East (Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Israel, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Palestinian Territories, Portugal, Romania and Sweden). At enrolment, a standardised, population adjusted, internationally recognised and anonymised survey (DASS21) recorded elevated stress (48%), anxiety (52%) and depression (50%). Some recorded severe depression.

Project Objectives

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1. Youth workers significantly improve resilience and become effective in tracking and managing their personal and work-related risks of mental ill-health (mild to severe).

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2. Improved effectiveness in understanding and assisting the young people they work with. 

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3. Personal and professional development, founded on peer learning, cross-cultural and inter-organisational exchange (EU Youth Strategy, 2019/21).

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4. Participating organizations access sustainable frameworks to monitor and target mental health risks in their youth workers.

Surveys: Individual needs and risks are measured through an internationally recognised surveys of Depression Anxiety and Stress (DASS-21), the Heartlands Forgiveness Scale (HFS) survey, and project feedback reviews - which track the degree to which participants received, practiced, valued and benefited from (online) workshop content.

Duration: 5 months of online group meetings and a 6-day face to face retreat for participants, in 2025.​​