Milano: “+PARI-PARE, support and group comparison” the new initiative to promote peer support and psychological well-being in under 35s
Countering stereotypes and promoting the use of respectful and inclusive language when talking about mental health, creating age-appropriate support networks for young adults and enhancing social spaces to prevent social isolation, marginalization and disorientation.
Milano: “+PARI-PARE, group support and comparison” the new initiative to promote peer support and psychological well-being in under 35s.
Challenging stereotypes and promote the use of a respectful and inclusive language when it comes to mental health, create support networks that are appropriate to the age and needs of young adults and enhance socialisation spaces in order to prevent social isolation, marginalization and disorientation.
This is the aim of the project of the Municipality of Milano “+PARI-PARE, group support and comparison”, created with the contribution of the Community Foundation Milano and the Order of Psychologists of Lombardy. This is a experimental intervention of promotion, awareness and mutual peer support to promote psychological well-being and a better quality of life for young adults (18-35 years).
Designed by the Youth Promotion and School-Work Transition Project Management of the Municipality of Milano and created in partnership with Progetto Itaca Milano and Coesa Social Cooperative Onlus, “+PARI-PARE, group support and comparison” it is part of a context of broader municipal measures dedicated to the needs of young people and the peculiarities of the transition phase to adult life, constituting a first step in defining specific interventions on mental health, in complementarity with the integrated city system launched with the “AccogliMI” project.
Even in this project the Municipality of Milano is committed to promote youth leadership: it will be the young adults, already sensitive to the issue, who will take action.
“+PARI-PARE” in fact provides for the creation of a biennial program of awareness initiatives aimed at under 35s with a training course for 20 young people interested in facilitating and accompanying peer-to-peer mutual aid groups and the launch of three mutual aid groups open to 100 young adults in difficulty, which will take place in meeting and socialising places located near the major universities in Milan – Mosso, Base and the Affori Library – with the possibility of activate individual consultations with psychotherapists from the Psicologo al Parco association upon request.
Il launching of the project will take place on September 28th and 29th on the occasion of the Third edition of the Paranoia Festival Outdoor, with a first evening of music at the Idroscalo and a subsequent day of discussion and debate with special guests at the headquarters of the Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Foundation. This will be followed by a animation events program, aggregation and awareness on the topic on 10-13 October, as part of the initiative Milano4MentalHealth 2024, which will be held at Open Casello, the new home of youth policies of the Municipality of Milano, and the House of Psychology of the Order of Psychologists of Lombardy. Finally, the training course for young facilitators and three peer support groups with the coordination and scientific supervision of Progetto Itaca Milano.
“It's a program that looks at the fragility of young adults, a space to discuss and share difficulties, fears, anxieties that undermine the daily lives of many under 35s. An opportunity made possible thanks to a two-year calendar of initiatives that has the ambition of raise awareness among citizens on the importance of young people's mental health. It is an initiative that would not have been possible without the support of many partners who are at our side and whom I thank for their commitment and sensitivity demonstrated", declares Martina Riva, Councilor for Sport, Tourism and Youth Policies.
“Mental health – adds the councilor for Welfare and Health Lamberto Bertolé – is still today, unfortunately, considered a second-rate issue compared to physical health. A deep-rooted prejudice that we must work to dismantle, together with the stigma that often accompanies those who suffer from a mental disorder or are experiencing a moment of psychological difficulty. Projects such as '+PARI -PARE, support and group comparison' and 'Welcome Me' vyear precisely in the direction of stimulating the protagonism of young people on this theme with the aim of accompanying and promoting a radical paradigm shift".
“Young adults are not ill because they are sick, but because they are limited in their living and fulfilling themselves.” – These are the words of psychotherapist Stefania Andreoli. They clearly explain how people between 18 and 35 want a meaningful existence and ask themselves questions, many, complex at least as the world they inhabit. Stinging questions that they do not want to dodge, but rather have put at the center of public debate. We cannot guarantee an answer to those questions - there is a different one for every head - but it is our duty to listen. To hear, to feel and to share. Community Foundation Milano is thrilled to contribute to the +PARI-PARE project, which offers a safe space, free from prejudice and fully communitarian in the importance given to mutual aid – said Carlo Marchetti, President of Fondazione di Comunità Milano.
“As a professional community of psychologists – underlines the president of the Order of Psychologists of Lombardy, Laura Parolin – we are committed to supporting innovative initiatives like this one, which allow the creation of safe, stimulating, inclusive spaces in which to confront and overcome the psychological challenges related to the transition to adult life. One of the most urgent priorities is to break down the economic and cultural obstacles that prevent take care of your psychological well-being. Psychological health is a right, essential to building a conscious and resilient society”.
“Moving away from the traditional study and creating new forms of psychological support to be integrated into community settings is essential to improve accessibility and psychological well-being, reducing barriers to access and promoting a culture of mental health. "- concludes the president of Cooperativa Sociale Coesa, Monica Daturi.
Reproduction reserved © Copyright La Milano