From 19 May to 4 June 2025, pilot training sessions for the PHAROS Lay Mental Health Advisor Training Programme were organised in Vilnius as part of the Erasmus+ project PHAROS (Project No. 2024-1-DE02-KA220-ADU-000244259). The training was delivered by Daiva Malinauskienė, Director of SIH.
We are very grateful to S. Kovalevskaya Progymnasium in Vilnius, which kindly provided the premises for the training sessions.
We are delighted to have worked with such active, motivated and empathetic participants – migrants who are willing to support their fellow migrants in integrating more smoothly into a new environment. The participants have been living in Lithuania for some time, and many of them are employed in schools or early childhood education institutions.
We are especially pleased that both the training programme and its implementation received very positive feedback. The course inspired participants to deepen their understanding of mental health issues and strengthened their commitment to supporting those who need advice and friendly assistance from someone who can truly understand them and provide compassionate support in their native language.
The following message from Iryna, who came to Lithuania from Belarus, reflects the feedback consistently expressed by the participants throughout the course:
"I would like to sincerely thank you for these sessions. Your lessons helped me look at my journey from a different perspective and realise how far I have already come. Having the opportunity to talk about migration experiences, feelings and challenges in a safe environment was very important and valuable. Thank you for creating a space where we could be open and honest. I am grateful for your support and inspiration."
To learn more about the project, please visit: https://pharoserasmus.eu/
