Creating Safe Spaces: Fostering Youth Mental Wellness

By: Tarynn OCampo

As the school year progresses on, students in school often find themselves not only pressured by their academic work and their expectations for themselves – but are pressured in their own environment. When a pupil is put into certain environments where they feel unaccepted, overlooked, judged, and bullied - their mental health deteriorates in the smallest yet impacting ways.

Though as students ourselves, let us advocate and create safe spaces for one another. By doing so, we are not only fostering kindness, unity, and gratitude amongst our peers, but we are helping create a platform where the mental health of the youth is prioritized, taken care of, and well accounted for.

What is a “Safe Space” for the youth? A safe space is an environment where members of the youth feel accepted, heard, free from judgement, and respected. It is an environment where they have the freedom to speak without hatred in the eyes of others, where they feel comfortable sharing their feelings and emotions, and where they are treated fairly regardless of personality, backgrounds, identity, or beliefs. 

In today’s time, bullying and judging have been happening more frequently than it should have. This is why fostering a safe space for ourselves and others is extremely important and significant to our communities in this modern time.

Why are safe spaces important for the youth’s mental health?

Safe environments provide their own fair share of benefits. These benefits mainly include the following:

• Reduces stress, anxiety, and the feeling of loneliness

• Fosters a connection between feeling safe while emotionally developing in a healthy manner

• Encourage self-expression, socialization, and openness

• Provide a sense of belonging, validation, and empowerment

Safe environments aren’t just a term to describe a respected environment, it is a term to describe an open, respected, and free from judgement community.

How do safe spaces support youth mental wellness?

When we support the idea of creating safe spaces or safe environments, we are able to contribute to supporting the youth’s mental health in simple ways such as providing support systems for teens who struggle emotionally, helping members of the youth build self-confidence, and encouraging healthier communication and coping skills.

How can the members of the community contribute to creating safe spaces?

To truly foster a safe environment, we can partake in the following tips:

• Listen without judgement: Listen openly, respectfully, and with a clear heart and mind. When we listen and communicate with judgement, the people we are talking to may feel judged and stressed – this does not promote a safe haven. 

• Promoting open conversations about mental health: When we break the stigma and the ‘embarrassment’ of talking about our mental health, we are setting up a supportive atmosphere wherein members of the youth are empowered to not bottle their emotions while seeking for assistance from others.

• Embody the values of empathy, inclusivity, and respect: When we embody these values, we are not just becoming the best version of ourselves – we are embodying the values of a safe space.

To conclude, why should we foster a safe space? Is it that important to us?

Fostering a safe space for the youth is extremely important. It is an environment where the youth is empowered to feel belonged and accepted, it is a safe haven where it serves as a foundation for mentally healthy youth and where their mental health is not looked down upon. Let us foster safe spaces in our own communities to promote empathy, acceptance, and diversity.

Sources

1. Wpab, & Wpab. (2024, November 7). Sample Proposal on Safe Spaces for Youth: Reducing Vulnerability to Violence and Crime - FundsforNGOs - Grants and Resources for Sustainability. fundsforNGOs - Grants and Resources for Sustainability - Grants and Resources for Sustainability. https://www.fundsforngos.org/all-proposals/sample-proposal-on-safe-spaces-for-youth-reducing-vulnerability-to-violence-and-crime/#

2. Mhc-Lp, R. L. (2023, January 30). How safe spaces contribute to Mental Health — Wove therapy. Wove Therapy. https://www.wovetherapy.com/blog/safe-spaces-contribute-to-mental-health#