Horizons of Hope addresses the mental health challenges faced by teen refugees in Southern Italy through weekly outdoor retreats. The project fosters resilience and cultural integration, utilizing nature-based team activities to empower participants. The circular mentorship model promotes leadership, continual learning, and empowerment, helping teen refugees navigate complex identities.
Horizons of Hope: Refugees’ Well-being & Integration
Horizons of Hope tackles the pressing issue of mental health (MH) among teen refugees in Southern Italy, where 40-50% experience MH disorders, and there's a scarcity of provision and resources. MH is integral to well-being, societal contributions, and political integration. The project implements outdoor retreats, engaging 13-17-year-olds in nature-based activities to enhance mental resilience. With a circular mentorship model, former participants become facilitators, fostering leadership and a continual cycle of learning. The long-term impact includes resilience, social skills, and lifelong well-being for participants, while promoting integration, understanding, and economic contribution in the local community and society at large.
Responsible Leadership:
Horizons of Hope demonstrates responsible leadership through a vision focused on addressing little-known MH issues in refugee teens with curiosity, purpose, and creativity. The action plan combines team knowledge with research synthesis, utilizing skills in teamwork, shared leadership, adaptability, risk management, organization, budgeting, and programming. The project values empathy, humility, and resources, caring for teens' well-being, taking a culturally-sensitive approach, and developing human capital. Collaboration, care, and commitment underscore the project's approach.
Impact:
The short-term outcomes include resilience, social skills, coping mechanisms, confidence, and skill development for teen participants, with long-term benefits of lifelong well-being, empowerment, and advocacy skills. The impact extends to the local community and wider society, fostering integration, understanding, skills for teenagers, friendships, greater economic and cultural contributions of refugees, and promoting inclusivity and gender equality.
Collaboration - Care - Commitment:
Horizons of Hope embodies collaboration through a circular mentorship model, care by addressing the scarcity of MH resources for teen refugees, and commitment to continual learning, adaptability, and co-creating value for the well-being, development, and empowerment of participants.
