On May 8, the concluding event of the project „Development of a Youth-Friendly Healthcare Services Model in Jonava District Municipality” took place in Jonava. The project was jointly implemented by Jonava District Municipality Administration and Jonava Public Health Office.
During the project period starting from March 3, 2021, the youth of Jonava, aged 14-29, were provided with high-quality and accessible healthcare services. These services aimed to strengthen their physical and mental health, promote healthy lifestyle habits, and offer counseling and case management to assist young people facing difficulties, based on 8 well-defined algorithms.
The project, identified as Project No. LT03-1-SAM-K01-007, received financial support from the European Economic Area’s funding mechanism.
The key to the project’s success was active collaboration. Therefore, representatives from various institutions that collaborated throughout the project were purposefully invited to ensure continued cooperation in addressing youth health issues beyond the project’s duration.
The event commenced with a warm welcome from Audronė Bagdonavičienė, the assistant to Seimas member Eugenijaus Sabutis. Youth coordinators and a psychologist presented the various health promotion activities that were implemented during the project. They highlighted consultations, case management, and green corridor services offered to young people, and shared insights into the common difficulties that young individuals seek help for.
Throughout the project period, the initiative organized five training sessions for specialists working with young people. Additionally, 16 sessions focused on topics like healthy nutrition, sexuality education, suicide prevention, self-expression, and internal motivation for young people and their relatives. Furthermore, 55 individual consultations with nutritionists were provided. Emphasizing physical activity, the project offered fitness classes such as self-defense, boxing, zumba, yoga, pilates, and gym workouts. A total of 198 physical activity sessions were organized, involving 703 participants, and 80 young people received monthly gym memberships.
Psychologist consultations were also in high demand, with 96 young people seeking support, leading to 356 individual consultations. Moreover, 268 young people sought assistance from youth coordinators, and 28 young people received services under the green corridor principle, including 19 psychiatric consultations. Throughout the 24-month project implementation, a total of 233 activities were conducted, with 2423 participants involved.
In conclusion, the organizers expressed their gratitude to all participants for their benevolence and sincere cooperation during the project’s implementation. They extended an invitation for continued collaboration in addressing youth health-related challenges as the project’s legacy continues.