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Description
The project was born out of the need to look for grassroot solutions limiting the number of suicidal attempts among children and youths in Radom. We decided to address the children’s and youths’ mental health problem since the data provided by the Police Headquarters indicates that Radom has for years been among big Polish cities with the largest number of suicidal attempts in this age group, while the access to specialist support is inadequate and insufficiently promoted. The problem of mental disorders among children and youths has also not been included in the only one existing strategic document prepared upon request of local authorities. We will appoint a participatory team to work on the civic Mental Health and Mental Disorder Prevention Programme for Children and Youths. We will invite parents of children suffering from emotional disorders, representatives of Random NGOs working with children and youths in emotional crisis, employees of the Municipal Welfare Centre, school workers and psychiatrists to join it. We will also organise a debate on the Radom support system for children with mental disorders. By executing this project, we will attract the attention of the government, local institutions, and local community to the burning problem of children’s and youths mental health. Our partner in this project is the LATOROŚL Association that has vast experience in facilitating participatory processes, so it will support our venture with its expertise and know-how.
Summary of project results
The project arose from the need to seek grassroots solutions that would reduce the number of suicide attempts among children and youth in Radom. We focused on the issue of mental health among children and youth because, according to data from the Police, Radom has been consistently among the top Polish cities in terms of the rate of suicide attempts in this age group. Specialized support options in our city are significantly inadequate and insufficiently promoted. The only existing strategic document commissioned by local authorities did not address the problem of mental disorders among children and youth.
We established a participatory team whose task was to develop a civic program for promoting mental health and preventing mental disorders among children and youth. We invited parents of children with emotional disorders, colleagues from Radom''s non-governmental organizations working with children and youth in emotional crisis, employees from the Municipal Social Assistance Center and schools, as well as psychiatrists to participate. We also organized a debate on the support system for children with mental disorders in Radom. Subsequently, we formed a committee that prepared and submitted a proposal for a resolution regarding the civic program. The resolution was adopted by the City Council.
The project''s partner was the LATOROŚL Association, which has extensive experience in implementing participatory processes and provided substantive support for the project, including the preparation of a social campaign, conducting participatory and informational meetings, as well as promoting the project on various social media platforms.
Through the project implementation, we drew the attention of authorities, local institutions, and the local community to the pressing issue of children and youth mental health. Thanks to our efforts, the local community actively participated in the work of the participatory team.
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