<< Objectives >>International evidence shows that mental health problems invariably start in adolescence and young adults; youth suicide in Europe is high; bullying, abuse, conflict, sustained distress, and trauma is rising; youth are prone to peer pressure and delinquency. Disadvantaged and refugee youth are more at risk.Conflict refugees, arriving in European Union countries, have a risk of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress and psychosis 3 times higher than host populations. •The Syrian crisis and ISIL’s incursion led to 6.4 million international refugees and 2 million conflict widows (Europol, 2017). About ¼ entered the EU-28 ‘with a median age of 28.1 years’ (Eurostat), and ‘... nearly 40%, mainly female youth, unable to connect or access mental health support’ (WHO).•Youth in migrant communities, or conflict refugees, have a higher risk of entanglement with slavery, female genital mutilation, forced marriage, conflict victimhood, intolerance, human trafficking, and being radicalized (WHO, 2017; Europol, 2017; IOM, 2017).Youth workers serving in these target groups carry a significantly increased risk of adverse effects. Secondary Trauma Syndrome (STS) - commonly described as ‘compassion fatigue’ or ‘burnout’, is significant (USA - Bride, 2016; EU - Kizilhan et al, 2018; Middle East (Plakas, 2016):a)Youth workers (i) with prolonged exposure to disadvantaged communities or communities with trauma related challenges; (ii) where social isolation is a significant factor (iii) and either working with limited resources (or their recommendations not being taken seriously)– are at significant risk of STS in the third sector.b)Quality of care offered by youth workers falls significantly when their mental wellbeing and resilience drop. This Trauma Healing and Community Resilience Development (THCRD) project was formed to address the imbalance - ‘to enable youth workers to be more aware and to be equipped in self-care to forestall the risk of STS’, with four objectives:1)Establishment of continual reflective, self-assessment and self-monitoring2)Grasp of the anatomy and drivers of fear, anxiety, trauma, worry and STS3)Establishment of reflective self-care practices evidenced in fostering resilience and intactness4)Inter-cultural collaboration, across borders, with youth workers handling similar challenges – improving awareness and connectedness. (‘Peer-learning activity on cross-sectoral approaches in youth work, EU Youth Strategy, 2019 – 21).We began in 2021 as the pandemic was shattering lives, ‘a serious threat to mental health, particularly among young people’ (OECD,2021), with European youth mental health problems, both significant (37-40%) and severe (6-13%). Youth workers enrolled with stress levels both pronounced (40%) and significantly elevated (10%). The project led to a fall in participant stress levels of 40%. Anxiety levels fell by ~70%. Elevated stress/anxiety dropped to 10-15%.The project verifiably improved intactness, self-awareness, hugely improving resilience. Participants collaborated, connected between diverse cultures, religions, geographies, finding their shared humanity, significantly improving professional effectiveness in the largest global epidemic for 90 years. 3 EU Key Competencies delivered had a pivotal role:·Literacy: ‘to pose, solve and interpret problems’§·Learning to learn:‘awareness of one's learning process and needs, overcome obstacles to learn, build on prior learning and life experiences’, ‘learning autonomously’, ‘work collaboratively as part of the learning process’, ‘draw benefits in a heterogeneous group’, ‘share what they have learnt’, ‘organise their own learning’§‘mobilising inner, reflective psychosocial resources, ‘act/ think reflectively, build the ability to deal with change’‡·Social and Civic Competencies:‘to resolve conflict, [foster] ‘ethnic diversity’ and ‘gender respect’; ‘express and understand different viewpoints’; to ‘create confidence’, ‘empathy, overcome prejudices’; ‘creative reflection, constructive participation in community’§‘relate well to others’, ‘cooperate, work in teams, manage and resolve conflicts’‡‘The need for individuals to think and act reflectively is central. Reflectiveness involves ... the ability to apply routinely a formula or method for confronting a situation ... the ability to deal with change, learn from experience and think and act with a critical stance. It is not just about how individuals think, but also about how they construct experience ... including their thoughts, feelings and social relations. This requires individuals to reach a level of social maturity that allows them to distance themselves from social pressures, take different perspectives, make independent judgments and take responsibility for their actions.’‡§ ‘Recommendation of the European Parliament. 2006/962/EC’‡ PISA (2005). ‘The definition and selection of Key Competencies.’<< Implementation >>PRINCE2 disciplines were applied. Annex 2 identifies the Project Team. The project had 5 phases:1.APPLICATION23 NGOs, 16 from Programme Countries, 7 from Partner Countries were identified by direct research, OTLAS, or referrals from existing partners. Questionnaires and direct interviews led to the discovery that Youth Workers in 65% of partners had a prior history of primary/ secondary trauma, a matter of significance.The project was thus aimed: ‘to enable youth workers to be more aware and to be equipped in self-care to forestall the risk of STS’, serving participants with these attributes: •youth workers (18+)•working with young people 13-30 (disadvantaged, traumatized, experienced conflict, violence, abuse) - at risk of Secondary Traumatic Stress•demonstrated passion about learning and improving•cognizant, responsive to risks of their beneficiaries•committed to reflective and peer learning•the project is specifically relevant to their work•proficiency in English (workshops conducted in English).The project objectives were agreed and mandates given for the application.2.ACTIVATIONWhen the Grant Agreement was issued the Partner Working Group (PWG, the project board) was formed. Partnership agreements, policies, procedures, and arrangements for participants were issued and finalized with the PWG, along with templates for progress monitoring, communication and dissemination, evaluation plans and stage reports. A financial framework was issued to handle claims and potential audits.Participants during enrolment responded to questionnaires, identifying learning needs and individual work challenges. Protected time was approved to attend the project activities. From 85 participants enrolled, 53 dropped out; the reasons - mainly pandemic constraints - are given in Section 4.3.3.PREPARATIONThe Feminenza Education team facilitated 21 months of monthly online preparatory workshops, (extended from 11 months due to the pandemic) backed by recordings, books, media and worksheets. A continuing quality improvement process was applied to adapt to the changing needs of our participants outlined in Section 4.1.The Hosting Team ensured readiness of the venue, accommodation, meeting facilities, equipment, health and safety, insurance and dietary requirements; issuing participants with written guides on Greece, the venue, in-country travel and COVID19 arrangements. Partners liaised - on visas, flights health, dietary and other participant requirements – with the Hosting Team.4.ACTIVITY/MOBILITYThe activity was a 6-day workshop in Greece (14th – 19th November 2022).The Hosting team arranged: transport from airports and railway stations; first aid support and safeguarding; logistics with the venue; communication with project partners; local cultural experiences, cultural exchange, etc; provided registration, workbooks and handouts for the activity and ensured COVID19 tests and screening.The 6-day Workshop consisted of 2 modules led by 8 experienced facilitators.•Managing Mental Trauma (2 days)•Seven Pillars of Forgiveness/Resilience (3 days).One day was assigned for intercultural exchange time, including a local outing to Korinthos. Methods are described in Section 5.1.5.EVALUATION AND DISSEMINATION (the entire project time window)EVALUATION:Four survey frameworks were applied in addition to the participant reports. •DASS-21 and HFS, internationally recognised surveys which measure depression, anxiety, stress, regret and forgiveness•Qualitative surveys clarifying the degree to which participants had valued the application of the tools provided, the inner reflective processes•A pilot for Partners, to help clarify their inherent corporate levels of mental health risks •Interviews with Participants and their managers, findings shared with Partners. The headline results:•A fall in participant stress levels of 40%, anxiety levels by ~70%. Elevated stress/anxiety dropped to 10-15%.•82% improved understanding of the drivers of anxiety, stress and fear and to recognise and change their behaviour.•71% were able to release themselves from past adverse incidents.More detail is given in Section 9.1DISSEMINATION:•13 ‘STS Project Diaries’, summating online workshop content, posted on Feminenza’s website and shared through our and partners’ social media channels •During the mobility, daily social media posts by Feminenza were further disseminated by partners•In addition to the Projects Results Platform, Feminenza will publish a final report on our website; results will be disseminated through our partner’s social media and organizational networksABOUT OUR FUTURE PLANS14 partners have since requested: (I) additional courses, (ii) workshops for other staff, (iii) practitioner training to deliver the workshops. We will make a further application to Erasmus+ for this and other NGOs our partners have referred.<< Results >>The project, designed before the pandemic was aimed ‘to enable youth workers to be more aware and to be equipped in self-care to forestall the risk of STS’. It had four objectives:1.Establishment of continual reflective, self-assessment and self-monitoring.2.Grasp of the anatomy and drivers of fear, anxiety, trauma, worry and STS.3.Establishment of reflective self-care practices evidenced in fostering resilience and intactness.4.Inter-cultural collaboration, across borders, with youth workers handling similar challenges – improving awareness and connectedness.The pandemic shattered lives, presenting ‘a serious threat to mental health, particularly among young people’ (OECD,2021). Eurobarometer surveys (2020-2022) found mental health problems in European youth - significant (37-40%) and severe (6-13%). When we started, participants also enrolled with stress/anxiety pronounced (40%) and significantly elevated (10%), matching Eurobarometer findings. Hence the entire project experience was adapted to (i) ensure each participant had improved support, relevant to their needs (ii) captivate, ensure value in the skills transferred; (iii) widen their perceptive canvas; (iv) equip participants to develop and maintain self-starting, self-reflective skills and sustainable resilience (v) address short attention spans.Participants supported the learning fabric, collaborated across 11 countries, shared meaningful stories from widely different cultural/societal backgrounds/religious beliefs, delivered captivating presentations. Increasingly working from the inside out, they drew on their inner resources. The continuing awareness of challenges faced by others from different countries led to shared values, genuine cross-cultural social connectedness, a key driver in boosting resilience. Objective 4 was delivered fully.The project led to a fall in participant stress levels of 40%. Anxiety levels fell by ~70%. Elevated stress/anxiety dropped to 10-15%. No severe risks remained: in major contrast to risk profiles at the start of the project.•89% more able to understand, allow for the inner challenges faced within themselves and others;•82% actively benefited from their improved understanding of the drivers of anxiety stress and fear, to recognise and change their behaviour;•63% successfully applied the circuit-breaker tools, essential to restoring intact mind-states;•81% succeeded with self-starting changes into intact mind-states, 67% succeeded under pressure, and 64% found that their efforts, to develop an intact mind, positively impacted others;•84% made the connection between reflective self-care, forgiveness and the building of intactness and resilience; grasping the role that forgiveness plays in recovering from trauma, inner intactness and fostering resilience;•79% formed a newfound role for compassion;•71% were able to release themselves from past adverse incidents;•20-30% rise in willingness to forgive (a marker long associated with reduced stress, better psychological well-being and resilience); ~64% experienced a significant breakthrough in forgiving themselves or others. Participants benefited privately (~90%) and professionally (81%), showing:(a) improved tolerance/patience and understanding of others (b) recognizing how their efforts to develop inner qualities led to recognition of the strengths/ qualities in others, impacting office work culture (c) increasing self-confidence; became quick to forgive minor irritations with family, friends, co-workers.All four project objectives achieved higher results than expected, swiftly; developing through the Preparation phase, into the mobility and sustained well beyond it. The project also delivered strongly on 3 EU Key Competencies:·Literacy: ‘to pose, solve and interpret problems’§·Learning to learn: ‘awareness of one's learning process and needs, build on prior learning and life experiences’, ‘learning autonomously, work collaboratively’, ‘share learning, ‘organise own learning’§; ‘mobilising inner, reflective psychosocial resources, ‘act/ think reflectively, build the ability to deal with change’‡·Social and Civic Competencies: ‘express and understand different viewpoints’, ‘create confidence’, ‘empathy, overcome prejudices’§; ‘relate well to others’‡§2006/962/EC’, ‡PISA (2005). Annex 10 offers more insight.The project’s Erasmus YouthPass Alumni received unique, life shaping, connecting experiences which led to sustained resilience and improved mental health during the largest pandemic in 90 years. 22 of the 26 NGOs had no prior experience of engaging in Erasmus projects. Their youth workers now want to learn how to deliver these tools to others. Their NGOs expressed respect for the quality of the Erasmus project. Six collaborate with us in the UK, Europe and the Middle East.