The Tenerife Island Council and the University of La Laguna, through its General Foundation, presented the Faro project today, Friday, February 14th. This pioneering initiative aims to promote mental health. The project, which is supported by the Canary Islands Health Service through its Prevention Education department, focuses on three key pillars: action, intervention, and referral, ensuring a comprehensive and effective approach in each community. Preventive action is primarily aimed at young people aged 6 to 14, who are the core of the project's strategy.
In addition, their families are included, as they are fundamental to the emotional and educational environment of young people; the teaching staff, as key agents in the training and care of students; and the elderly, a group that also requires attention and support.
The Education and Prevention Councillor, Juan Acosta, explained that a total of 12 professionals will be responsible for educating the entire population on the necessary tools to prevent anxiety, depression, suicide, obesity, and diabetes, and for promoting healthy habits and lifestyles. They will also provide support, guidance, and information on potential solutions to health-related problems. «This multidisciplinary team, composed of professionals in nutrition, psychology, pedagogy, and social work, will be fundamental to the success of the innovative Faro project, which will launch its first phase in the pilot municipalities of Candelaria, Santa Úrsula, and San Miguel de Abona,” he commented.
The main actions of this project range from prevention workshops that promote knowledge and practice of healthy habits to prevent emotional, social or mental health problems, impact evaluation that analyzes the results of interventions to measure their effectiveness and adjust strategies, personalized tutoring that provides individualized guidance to address the specific needs of each recipient, comprehensive care offering psychological, social and educational support to those who need it, ensuring a holistic approach, socio-health coordination facilitating access to health and social assistance services to guarantee continuity of care and professional referral where in cases of high need acting as a bridge to connect recipients with specialists in different areas.
The Faro project is endorsed by the Tenerife Island Council's Steering Group for Mental Health and Healthy Lifestyles, whose members include professional associations, federations, departments, directorates general, and management offices. This initiative will begin as a pilot program in three municipalities on the island and, after the corresponding evaluations, will be rolled out to the rest of the municipalities on Tenerife.
(Press release provided).
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