Strengthening local communities in remote areas in the field of children's and adolescents' mental health

The Junior High School of Serifos, one of the islands visited by CAMHI and the Mobile Medical Units © CAMHI_Greece

Joint actions have been launched by the Child & Adolescent Mental Health Initiative (CAMHI) and the Mobile Medical Units (MMUs) to inform, raise awareness, and support local communities in island and remote areas regarding children's and adolescents' mental health.

At the end of 2025, CAMHI began collaborating with the MMUs, which are implemented by the NGO Regeneration & Progress with the exclusive support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF). The goal is to strengthen local communities further and promote the mental well-being of children and adolescents in island and remote areas. The first joint missions took place in Serifos, Kasos, Astypalaia, and Alonissos, combining the provision of primary healthcare with community-level awareness, training, and networking activities.

The Mobile Medical Units on the island of Kassos © CAMHI_Greece

During the visits, CAMHI briefed healthcare and education professionals on its training programs, and recorded needs and priorities related to children's and adolescents' mental health through discussions with local bodies and professionals. At the same time, it responded to specific requests for activities such as parent groups, informational presentations, thematic discussions with adolescents, as well as activities that strengthen the community's knowledge and skills around mental health issues. Through these actions, connections with local structures were strengthened and opportunities for more systematic collaboration and presence in the future were explored.

A snapshot from a presentation of CAMHI on the island of Lipsi © CAMHI_Greece

The experience from the visits highlighted significant challenges. In primary care settings, medical staff are often limited and frequently changing, while nursing staff represent the most stable pillar of collaboration at the community level. "There is no organized mental health screening, despite the obvious needs, and access to child psychiatric assessment remains time-consuming and financially burdensome for many families," notes child and adolescent psychiatrist and member of CAMHI's scientific committee, Efi Kapsimalli, adding: "In the school community, high interest and active participation from teachers was recorded, but also significant variation between areas in terms of the availability of support services and the ability to manage critical cases."

The needs identified by local communities relate primarily to information and guidance on issues concerning parenting, neurodevelopmental difficulties, behavior and boundary management, substance use, psychosocial crises, and significant family transitions. Particular interest is noted for activities such as parent groups, thematic discussions with adolescents, and training activities for healthcare and education professionals, which strengthen the knowledge and skills of the local community around mental health issues.

The local nursery in Serifos where CAMHI presented its programs © CAMHI_Greece

The combined presence of CAMHI and the MMUs appears to strengthen the acceptance of activities by each local community and to contribute to the development of collaborations with local structures. At the same time, it highlights the importance of on-site presence for understanding community needs and underscores the need for continued communication, coordination, and systematic collaboration, so that interventions have long-term durability and stronger impact.

In this context, the collaboration focuses on empowering professionals and local networks through awareness, training, and experience-sharing activities, as well as the systematic recording of needs and field experience. In parallel, tools for monitoring visits and online reconnection with local structures are utilized, to maintain collaboration and gradually strengthen local capacity on children's and adolescents' mental health issues.

The response from communities so far has been particularly positive, and the partnership between CAMHI and the Mobile Medical Units will continue throughout 2026, contributing in a tangible and meaningful way to strengthening prevention and empowering the most remote areas on children's and adolescents' mental health issues.

The CAMHI program is designed and implemented by a nationwide Network of public sector mental health bodies and professionals, in collaboration with the Child Mind Institute (New York) and with the support of the Ministry of Health. CAMHI is supported exclusively by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) as part of the SNF's Global Health Initiative (GHI).
The Mobile Medical Units (MMUs) are an initiative of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) in collaboration with the Healthcare Units S.A. (AEMY S.A.) within the framework of the implementation of the National Primary Healthcare Program, for which the implementing body is the NGO Regeneration & Progress, under the scientific supervision of the 1st Orthopaedic Clinic of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.