Ustavimo osamljenost, pričnimo prostovoljiti!

Background »Stop loneliness, Start volunteering« was developed as a possible solution to different types of distress among youth, occurring as a consequence of isolation and loneliness due to COVID-19 restrictions. Based on research and our own observation volunteering offers at least a partial solution to the problem. The consortium is active in the areas of inclusive volunteering, youth volunteering and has experience with youth with fewer opportunities. The pandemic brought restrictive measures which exposed a lot of people to considerable amounts of stress whereas youth carried the biggest load, being deprived of normal schooling and social life and dealing with illness and deaths of family members. As a society, we expected solidarity and sacrifice from them for the benefit of vulnerable groups, disregarding the possible negative effect on them. It was especially difficult on young people that have already lived in poor conditions before the pandemic. There have been different studies regarding the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has had on youth. In Slovenia the Assessment of the needs for psychosocial support in the second wave of COVID-19 by the Association of Psychologists of Slovenia highlighted the greatest hardships among students: fear of losing their freedom, fear of an uncertain future, and hardship of isolation. They noticed signs of depression and anxiety, development of a negative attitude towards themselves, chronic fatigue; they also report lack of energy, lack of interest and joy, sleep problems, feelings of depression and despair. Volunteering was highlighted as a source of help and support (10% of surveyed students are volunteers, 24.4% understand it as a source of relief from distress; http://www.dps.si/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Psychosocial-support-needs-assessment.pdf). Serious consequences are also observed in Croatia: research has shown that every 10th child or adolescent has symptoms of anxiety or depression that exceed the expected level. 15% have symptoms of post-traumatic stress, 74% face fear of failure, 60% anxiety and almost half of the respondents mentioned feelings of sadness and emptiness and concern for the safety of their family members. Based on the study of the EP (May 2021), ''Education and youth in post-COVID-19 Europe – crisis effects and policy recommendations'' the COVID-19 crisis ''sparked a bigger interest in ideas and methods of non-formal knowledge that encourage and help well being and ways of dealing with distress''. European Youth Forum conducted a global research of COVID-19 crisis and it's impact on the youth, focusing on employment, education, their rights and well-being. In the report ''Youth and Covid-19: effects on employment, education, rights and well-being'' they established that the well-being of youth has severly diminished. All the