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Lublin’s Neuropsychiatric Hospital has signed an agreement with the Lublin Education Curator to establish a Regional Mental Health Center for Children and Youth.
The goal is to improve the accessibility of psychological, psychiatric, and addiction treatment for children and young people. The project is part of a larger initiative to address the increasing mental health issues faced by young people in Poland, which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The signing ceremony was attended by the Minister of Education and Science, Przemysław Czarnek, who praised the project as a significant step towards providing young people with the mental health support they need. He noted that the pandemic has deepened the need for psychological and educational support for students, and the government has responded by allocating over PLN 2 billion to create an additional 20,000 specialist positions in Polish schools. This has increased the number of specialists from 22,000 to over 40,000, and the government plans to increase this number to over 51,000 by 2024.
The Regional Mental Health Center for Children and Youth will be established in Lublin’s Neuropsychiatric Hospital, and will be a collaborative network of institutions and entities working together to provide coordinated support for families, children, and young people as close to their homes as possible. The project will be divided into three stages: the recruitment of entities to participate in the project, training for teachers, and the operational phase where psychological support will be provided in schools and other institutions.
The initiative is expected to have a significant impact on the mental health and well-being of young people in the Lublin region, as well as providing a model for similar projects across Poland. The establishment of the Regional Mental Health Center for Children and Youth reflects the government’s commitment to addressing the growing mental health needs of young people, and providing the support they need to thrive.