Title of the project : E-YOUTH – Empowering Youth Individuals with fewer opportunities towards citizenship
Program/financer: Erasmus +, KA220-YOU – Cooperation partnerships in youth
Description:
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as a legally binding treaty, has represented a
milestone in the field of disability rights at an international level and has significantly contributed during its lifespan to
change the landscape in many fields, including policy development, legal framework reforms and health and social
practice. However, persons with disabilities are still facing vulnerability and discrimination in different scenarios in a postpandemic
context. The European Disability Strategy 2021-2030 recognises young persons with disabilities, women and
persons experiencing psychosocial disabilities as groups requiring particular attention (COM/2021/101 final; page 11) to
ensure that their rights are respected and the European Union Youth Strategy 2019-2027 also recognised the need to
embed all actions addressed at this target group within a Human Rights framework (2018/C 456/01; C 456/3). The
COVID-19 outbreak has highlighted the frailness of the health and social protection systems across the European Union
as well as the emergence of new vulnerable profiles whom had seen its mental health deteriorate and suffered the
consequences of the disruption of the system whom has failed to provide adequate, affordable and accessible health and
social support, including preventive support, support in the family environment or community-based support. Young
individuals with psychosocial disabilities are now facing an increased risk of being subject to non UNCRPD compliant
practices due to the lack of community-based services and the lack of skills of the current health and social services
workforce whom had failed to develop within its service effective and efficient outreach and intervention strategies
targeted at them. Aware of that fact, the EU Disability Strategy 2021-2030 also recognises that a «specific framework for
Social Services of Excellence for persons with disabilities is needed to improve service delivery for persons with
disabilities and to enhance the attractiveness of jobs in this area including through upskilling and reskilling of service
providers» (COM/2021/101 final; page 9) that ultimately will enable a systemic change on service provision to progress
on the deinstitutionalisation process of persons with disabilities. The different organisations applying, building on that
rationale, have identified the need to: (1) Increase the skills and competencies of youth workers in the health, social and
youth service providers’; (2) Develop new methods of service provision to reach PWFO-PWDs and youth individuals with
complex support needs; (3) Implement the UNCRPD at a local level and deliver community-based services; (4) Have a
readily-available training package that helps in this transition to the whole workforce of the organisation and; (5) Increase
social inclusion and the agency of PWFO-PWDs and youth with complex support needs and uphold their rights and
citizenship status.
The COVID-19 outbreak has highlighted the frailness of the health and social protection systems across the European
Union as well as the emergence of new vulnerable profiles whom had seen its mental health deteriorate and suffered the
consequences of the disruption of the system whom has failed to provide adequate, affordable and accessible health and
social support, including preventive support, support in the family environment or community-based support. Young
individuals with psychosocial disabilities are now facing an increased risk of being subject to non UNCRPD compliant
practices due to the lack of community-based services and the lack of skills of the current health and social services
workforce whom had failed to develop within its service effective and efficient outreach and intervention strategies
targeted at them. New standards for UNCRPD compliant services are required to, as well as the need to avoid
casualization of the workforce in light this global transformation of services. The overarching objectives of the project
match the two priorities selected: “increasing quality, innovation and recognition of youth work” and “strengthening the
employability of young people” General Objectives 1. Promote social inclusion of young persons with disabilities with
complex needs and with fewer opportunities (NEETs) to ensure their Human Rights are respected. 2. Contribute upon
identity building and citizenship of persons at risk of exclusion by developing concrete actions to implement the European
Pillar of Social Rights. Specific Objectives 1. Design and create a cross-sectoral and co-produced intervention
methodology between health, social services and third sector organisations to develop community-based services; 2.
Upskill and reskill current professionals in the disability sector by mapping their current competences and developing
evidence-based and rights-driven training packages; 3. Develop resources to promote personal development, autonomy
and resilience of young persons with complex needs and fewer opportunities to promote pathways of engagement with the system.
Upon completion of the project the following activities/project results will be achieved or produced*. -PR1 Mapping Cross-
Sectoral Skills & Competencies of Young Workers in the EU. Guidelines to improve Professional Skills & Competencies
from Youth Workers -PR2 E-YOUTH Common Methodological Framework. Methodological framework for transforming
and implementing community-based outreach services for youth persons (Service Delivery Process). -PR3 Toolkit on
Community Intervention for Youth Workers. Staff Guidelines on Community Intervention for Youth Workers (Toolkit &
Resources). -PR4 Pedagogical Guide and Training Resources that will result in a C1 Short Term Staff Training Event
followed by a local piloting phase included in PR4. -PR5 Policy Recommendations. Additionally, the partners consortium
has planned 6 Multiplier Events and 1 ‘C1 Short Term Staff Training Event’ to be held in Denmark conceptualised as a
capacity-building event to consolidate and contribute to the transferability of each o f the Project Results / activities to be
implemented during the project. *Every Project Results from PR1 to PR4 will be produced in a universal version in English
and a local version adapted to cultural differences, legislation and organisational or administrative procedures. Local
versions will be translated into local languages, namely: Danish, French, Slovenian, Spanish and Catalan.
The partnership believes the E-YOUTH Project will contribute to address unmet needs of PWFO-PWDs or youth
individuals with support needs in multiple aspects of their lives as well as increasing their employability and social
inclusion. The outcomes of the project are twofold, not only addressing the final user group but also youth professionals in
services that can boost its skills and abilities and prepare to become the disability workforce of tomorrow, ensuring that
they participate in a complete renewal of the way services addressed at PWFO-PWD or youth individuals with complex
support needs are transformed into right-driven and community-based services. The specific results of the project (during
and after its completion) aim to: -Identify unmet needs of PWFO-PWDs and youth individuals with complex support
needs; -Identify skills & competencies of youth workers and upskill and reskill the disability workforce; -Improve the
quality of existing community-based services (HCBS) in EU countries; -Enable the transition of service providers to a new
paradigm of services, based on the community and compliant with Human Rights standards by identifying and
transforming its service delivery model. -Develop innovative and transferable approaches and new intervention
methodologies and make them available for youth professionals by providing them easy-to-use toolkits and resources. –
Develop and deliver an abridged and comprehensive training to professionals with different academic backgrounds &
roles and responsibilities between different service providers. -Provide guidance to local/regional/national/European
authorities and decision-makers through updated and crosscutting reports and policy recommendations to shift and steer
future policy. -Upgrade the Quality of Life (QoL) of PWFO-PWDs and youth individuals with complex support needs and
their families; -Strengthen the synergies between the different sectors involved in service provisions for PWFO-PWDs
and youth individuals with complex support needs. Every partner will enrich from cooperating with each other as the tasks
and deliverables in the project could not be done by a single organisation but by a curated and carefully-selected
consortium of organisations with specific experience, expertise and know-how so they immediate benefits of cooperating
with transnational partners are: 1. Being able to deliver on the PRs of the E-YOUTH project with transnational
organisations and professionals providing and enriching the partnership with local know-how and experience. 2. Being
able to transfer from a bottom-up approach innovative practices in each country to other European MS as well as
generating transnational evidence-based practice. 3. Contribute to harmonisation of practices in the social, health and
youth sector as well as improving service provision addressed at the target population in each country. 4. Implement
collaborative and co-production methodologies beyond country borders making better use of EU funding mechanisms
bypassing the traditional limited resources for social innovation, especially in the social sector. 5. Improve policy-making
at a macro-regional level but also at a National/Regional/Local level.
Duration : 1/11/2021- 01/05/2024
Website:
Partner organization :
Fundació Tutelar de les Comarques Gironines Spain Cataluña Girona – www.supportgirona.cat
Union Départementale des Associations Familiales de Tarn et Garonne France Midi- Pyrénées MONTAUBAN
European Society for Quality and Safety in Family Practice (EQuiP) Denmark Midtjylland Egå http://equip.woncaeurope.org/
FEDERACION PROVINCIAL DE ASOCIACIONES DE PERSONAS CON DISCAPACIDAD FISICA Y ORGANICA DE SEVILLA
Spain Andalucía SEVILLA http://cocemfesevilla.es/
MENTAL HEALTH EUROPE – SANTE MENTALE EUROPE Belgium BRUXELLES www.mhe-sme.org
OZARA STORITVENO IN INVALIDSKO PODJETJE DOO Slovenia MARIBOR www.ozara.si
