With rising mental health challenges, a great number of emerging adults struggle to reach their full potential.
In fact, no other age group reports as many challenges as 18-29 year-olds while also having a hard time accessing affordable and appropriate support. This is what we want to change.
As cultivators of social entrepreneurship, we don’t subscribe to a single cure-all solution to a systemic and multifaceted problem. Instead, we are reaching out to entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, practitioners and emerging adults in a united cross-sector effort to revolutionize mental health support in the Nordics.
From healing to thriving, from personal to community, we empower scalable solutions and advocacy initiatives that each hold a unique promise to secure emerging adults’ human right to be well.
Together, we can create a Nordic-wide revolution in mental well-being for emerging adults.
The journey has started.
Will you join us?
THIS IS A CALL TO ACTION.
Our manifest
What we do
Next in Mind is founded by Reach for Change, The Inner Foundation, and the Tim Bergling Foundation as a response to the rising mental health crisis of emerging adults in the Nordics.
We empower social entrepreneurs who work on the innovative solutions we need to make mental health resources more accessible and effective for emerging adults. For social entrepreneurs to thrive and expand their impact, they require a nurturing ecosystem and support from cross-sector partners.
With partners in both public and private sectors, in academia and mental health practices, as well as emerging adults, we represent and include all aspects of the issue, in the Nordic region.
Why we do it
In the Nordics, we are currently witnessing some of the highest rates of mental suffering among emerging adults compared to other European countries. Compared to the rest of the population in the Nordics, twice as many in this age group are dealing with mental health challenges.
Too many struggle to access affordable, appropriate help, making it one of the greatest challenges facing our Nordic societies today. If we continue down this path, we risk leaving an entire generation behind.
Mental health is a human right, and more needs to be done to secure it. We need to increase our support systems for the mental wellbeing of all emerging adults.
How we do it
Our approach is two-fold:
Firstly, we offer an incubator program that focuses on developing and scaling social entrepreneurs’ businesses. Among others, these activities include sharpening their operating model, readiness to scale, impact measurement, monitoring and evaluation and funding strategies.
Secondly, we gather, empower and facilitate co-created ecosystem and advocacy activities to impact the systems of support for mental wellbeing solutions in the Nordics.
Our end beneficiaries
In today’s society, the transition to adulthood takes longer than it has in the past. This has created a new life phase: emerging adulthood, a time in our life where many of us are struggling.
EMERGING ADULTS
As a part of this initiative we have created a report to put some important facts and insights on the table regarding the current situation for emerging adults, 18-29 years old.
The report looks deeper into several aspects of the life of an emerging adult; what happens during this period of life, how are emerging adults feeling, what challenges are they facing today and what are their needs.
Our approach
MENTAL HEALTH IS A HUMAN RIGHT
Mental health is about much more than the absence of mental disorders. It is not just about surviving, it is about thriving and living to our full potential. Next in Mind applies World Health Organization's definition of mental health
“Mental health is a state of mental wellbeing that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. It is an integral component of health and well-being that underpins our individual and collective abilities to make decisions, build relationships and shape the world we live in.
Mental health is more than the absence of mental disorders. It exists on a complex continuum, which is experienced differently from one person to the next, with varying degrees of difficulty and distress and potentially very different social and clinical outcomes.
Mental health conditions include mental disorders and psychosocial disabilities as well as other mental states associated with significant distress, impairment in functioning, or risk ofself-harm.“
We apply six core concepts within mental wellbeing that is our foundation to create sustainable impact.
1. Mental Health as a basic human right
Everyone, whoever and wherever they are, has a deserving and inherent right to the highest attainable standard of mental wellbeing.This includes:
the right to be protected from mental health risks.
the right to available, accessible, acceptable and good quality care.
And the right to liberty, independence and inclusion in the community.
4. Multisectoral approach
Given the diverse factors determining mental wellbeing, interventions to promote and protect mental wellbeing should be delivered across multiple sectors and disciplines. Care for people with mental health conditions often requires services and support that extend beyond clinical treatment.
2. Mental wellbeing exists on a complex continuum
Mental wellbeing is ranging from optimal wellbeing to debilitating states of suffering and emotional pain. At one end, individuals experience a state of optimal wellbeing, where they flourish and thrive. Conversely, at the opposite end, they may encounter profound emotional distress and suffering. It's essential to recognize that everyone's position on this spectrum can vary throughout their lifetime and that we cannot only define mental wellbeing as states of severe illness and diagnosis.
5. Emerging adults perspective first
Innovations we invest in should be Accessible, Affordable and Acceptable for Emerging adults. Our Emerging adults advisory board will be a part of assessing the innovations based on the these perspectives.
3. The Social determinants of wellbeing
Mental wellbeing and many common mental disorders are largely shaped by the social, economic, and physical environments in which people live. Social inequalities are associated with an increased risk of many common mental disorders. A social determinants of wellbeing approach requires action across multiple sectors and levels, including individual, family, community, structural, and population levels. These diverse factors can either protect or undermine mental wellbeing, shifting an individual's position on the mental wellbeing continuum.
6. Develop and drive data-driven impact
The path to measuring impact in an effective and qualitative way within mental wellbeing is a challenge. It is important that we scale up interventions that show evidence based potential to be effective. To do that we need to be a part of driving and exploring ways to measure impact so we can take data driven decisions when investing and scaling innovations within mental wellbeing.
OUR CORNERSTONES
MINDFULLY FOUNDED BY
SUPPORTED BY
Do you also want to be a part of supporting real impact?