Learning from the Mentorship Project for Unaccompanied Children in Greece
Through the activities of the CO.A.ST – My Coming of Age Story project, our team had the opportunity to learn more about an inspiring initiative supporting unaccompanied children in Greece: The mentorship project.
In July 2021, the former Special Secretariat for the Protection of Unaccompanied Minors (SSPUAM), currently the General Secretariat for Vulnerable Persons and Institutional Protection (GSVPIP) with the support of the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), initiated the Mentorship project as a pilot project aimed at providing guidance and empowerment to unaccompanied children in Greece, through a network of trained Mentors.
The project derives from the idea of peer-to-peer support with active community involvement. The Mentorship network consists of six former unaccompanied minors and refugees, who reside in Greece, have attended the Greek educational system, and had faced similar difficulties and challenges to the ones children face today. It is an additional valuable tool to the already existing child protection support network of professionals working in long-term accommodation facilities. At the same time the project creates a bridge between the Ministry of Migration and Asylum and the field ensuring that children’s needs are identified and shared with policymakers. The project aims at supporting minors during the various stages of their stay in Greece, including reception, accommodation, and education, ensuring children’s smooth transition to adulthood as well as their integration into the labour market and Greek society.
Peer-to-peer support in practice
Drawing on a peer-to-peer approach, mentors serve as positive role models, sharing their knowledge and lived experience to help children better understand their available options and the protection system in Greece, inform them on policy changes that affect them, address everyday challenges, raise issues of mental health and stigma and build confidence in navigating their social environment. Mentors reach out to minors through field visits across Greece, using online communication tools, and organizing a variation of outdoor activities that encourage participation and trust-building.
A core component of the mentors’ work involves visits to Accommodation Centres and Supported Independent Living (SIL) apartments, all across Greece. During these visits, mentors organise informative sessions and focus group discussions where children can ask questions, share concerns, and receive practical guidance on issues affecting their daily lives.
The project also promotes creative expression through art. The organisation of painting workshops and painting exhibitions in different locations, offers children the opportunity to express themselves creatively, to socialize with their peers, to improve their skills and techniques while showcasing their talents to the wider public. These activities help build confidence and provide positive visibility to young people’s artistic abilities.
Sharing information and building connections
Another important initiative within the project is the Teens Network, which brings together mentors and minors residing in accommodation facilities across Greece for monthly online thematic meetings. The sessions are organized and chaired by the mentors and focus on one theme per session, which is either requested by children or chosen by the mentors, These sessions address topics relevant to unaccompanied children, providing accessible information and guidance to help them better understand different processes and navigate everyday challenges. Professionals can be invited to share information on specific thematics.
Mentors also contribute to the creation of informational and educational videos, published on the YouTube channel “Mentors Explained.” These videos provide practical guidance on key topics and can be accessed continuously via QR codes, making them an accessible resource for young people seeking reliable information.
Raising awareness and supporting wellbeing
Beyond direct support to unaccompanied children, mentors also engage with the broader community. Through school visits and participation in school events, they help raise awareness about the realities and challenges of living as an unaccompanied child, and resilience of these children, who might be of the same age but face different challenges, and to raise awareness among pupils on the potential of UAMs and not the usual "vulnerable and weak profile" that the media portrays. Finally, the sessions end by discussing ways to advocate for children's rights, both individually as well as collectively representing their class or school.
The project also promotes mental health awareness, providing unaccompanied children with information and tools to better understand and address their own and their peers’ mental health challenges. The mentors were trained to promote the “I support my friends” tool, which builds on the principles of Psychological First Aid to equip older children and adolescents with the skills and knowledge to support their friends in distress, under the mentorship and guidance of trusted adults.
The mentorship project in Greece has been highlighted as an inspiring practice within the framework of AMIF. Providing information and support through this type of mechanisms and “buddy systems” has proven particularly beneficial for unaccompanied children. Meeting mentors who have lived very similar experiences with them can help young people feel understood, more comfortable asking questions, and more receptive to guidance. Furthermore, the mentors themselves serve as powerful role models.
The mentorship project represents a valuable and encouraging initiative. Expanding such programmes within Greece and creating similar peer-support mechanisms could significantly strengthen the support systems available to unaccompanied children and further enhance their protection and inclusion.