Stronger Youth is a project funded by the Erasmus+ program, running for two years from December 2023 to November 2025. Its main goal is to provide a methodology and a comprehensive toolkit to support peer mentoring with the aim of preventing depression and social exclusion among young people. The project focuses on improving social and communication skills through mentoring young people, offering tools for assessing their skills and receiving feedback to become mentors. It also provides guidelines for educators overseeing the mentoring process and a range of activities for mentors and young people to develop social and psychological resilience.
Objectives
The primary goal of the project is to organize a peer mentoring process that enables young people to receive support and guidance from their peers. This approach is based on the premise that no one understands an adolescent better than another adolescent. The project focuses on creating a communication framework for young people, using structured communication channels to facilitate open and honest exchange of opinions and experiences. Another step is the recruitment of resilient young volunteers, for which an online tool will be created. This tool will help identify young people who exhibit high resilience and are willing to help their peers.
National Report – Preparation for OSAT
Each participating country is currently completing its National Report, which analyzes the current situation of adolescents and their mental health. The National Report consists of two parts. The theoretical part focuses on current scientific research dealing with problems and risk factors associated with adolescent mental health, protective factors and skills related to adolescent mental health, adolescents’ preferences regarding communication and help-seeking, and peer mentoring programs. The empirical part aims to gather evidence on the perspectives of European adolescents regarding their mental health and well-being. The objective is to describe adolescents’ views on their psychological problems and coping resources, identify risk and protective factors for mental health and well-being in the key contexts of their lives, and find out their preferred channels for help-seeking and communication.
This project represents a significant step towards preventing depression and strengthening the mental health of young people in Europe. Through peer mentoring and international collaboration, it aims to create a supportive environment where adolescents can find support and guidance from their peers. In this way, we can strengthen their resilience to stress and contribute to their overall mental well-being.
