School, climate, future. There is much that can weigh on young people today. Må Bäst aims to contribute a step closer to a well-being society by promoting mental health. The project will develop methods and approaches to promote mental health among youth and young adults, primarily within our own organization and our 3000 members in Stockholm, but also to extend the work beyond our own organization with the help of partners such as our national organization KFUM Sweden.
BACKGROUND
The project is developed by youth at KFUM Central. According to statistics, mental ill-health has increased significantly both in Sweden and globally over the past 10 years! The Youth Forum at KFUM Central highlighted the negative trend regarding young people’s mental well-being and wanted the organization to do more to ensure young people feel good. A project idea emerged, and 5 million SEK was granted by the Swedish Inheritance Fund to Må Bäst! in October 2021.
THE PROJECT
The issue that led to Må Bäst! arises from mental ill-health, but that’s not what Må Bäst! focuses on. The focus is on promoting young people’s mental well-being. The keywords in the project’s approach are implementability, sustainability, and participation. This means that the work Må Bäst! does during the project period should be implementable in regular operations, should remain available and usable after the project is over, and that the target group of young people should be involved in how and what we do.
The project extends from February 2022 to February 2025. Under this time the main goal is to spread knowledge about mental health and tools for well-being. Må Bäst! does this by targeting both activity leaders and actively engaged young people.
how
EDUCATION, METHOD, MENTORSHIP & KNOWLEDGE BANK.
Education
An education session has beed developed by the project abut mental health for the KFUM leadership training EMMA. The project also holds lectures and workshops on mental health for leaders and young people.
method
The method developed by Må Bäst! is aimed to work proactively with mental health. The method consists of and digital training, conversation cards and a book.
- The book ”Vad är det som känns? [”What is it that feels?] aimed at those who want to learn more about mental health. The content is geared towards a young audience but can be read by everyone, especially individuals who encounter young people in their work.
- Digital training provides an introduction to the subject of mental health and promoting factors from a leadership perspective.
- Conversation cards are a tool for conveying knowledge and fostering group discussions based on the theme of promoting factors for mental wellbeing and culture within the group.
The mentorship program / Meeting Place Må Bäst!
The mentorship program / Meeting Place Må Bäst! started in October 2023 and is led by individuals who are committed to working for mental health in the organization. The activity should be an open and safe meeting place for young people to meet and hang out. The mentors enable a contact surface for members who wish for various types of support and guidance, but also a place to have fun together with great role models.
The knowledge bank / website
The website will be the project’s platform for sharing information and documentation. Through it, the project’s methods and approaches to promoting mental health can be available to everyone.