Living in a rural area has its challenges, among which are not having easy access to mental health supported services. 

Even though Cyprus has provided adequate mental health opportunities through the country’s General Healthcare System (GeSY), a cost-effective system, one must first get approval from their personal doctor in order to be able to reach out to a psychologist/psychiatrist for help; something which is not only time-consuming, but at times, may be life threatening, especially for a young person needing immediate help. 

If an individual’s personal doctor does not approve of the patient seeing a mental health professional through GeSY, the patient then faces the challenge of extremely costly visits, something most young people living in rural areas cannot afford. 

Young people deal with a lot of stressors which at times might be difficult to juggle on their own. The system must help individuals with lesser access and opportunities for mental health care instead of marginalize them and make them feel lesser than. 

This petition is organized as part of the Erasmus+ KA2 Youth Project “HOLD ON: Fostering Access to Mental Health Support for Young People”, aiming to close knowledge gaps and equip non-medical professionals who work with young people, with the ability to recognize mental health issues and provide informal support, promote informal peer mental health services at non-medical service points, and also increase public awareness in order to reduce mental health-related stereotypes and attract the attention of policymakers to the subject. 

By supporting this petition, you ensure that everyone gets equal access to mental health care and you allow others’ voices to be heard!