Harno wants to create an online youth work service to help 15-26-year-olds who are not studying or working or are at risk of falling into such a situation. The goal of the service is to help them return to studies or the labor market.
Currently, there are youth workers in many regions, but according to Harno, many youth in need of help still go unnoticed. These young people do not attend events, spend time in shopping centers or parks, and do not respond to welfare specialists. However, they often communicate in digital environments such as social media, web games, and forums.
Harno is now looking for a partner to help make youth visible in activity environments like Discord, TikTok, Roblox, and others. Olav Kersen, an expert at Harno, says there are no complicated schemes for finding troubled youth. The young person themselves describe their problems, such as skipping school or not wanting to continue studying.
Online youth workers can communicate with young people on various platforms, such as Discord, Minecraft, or by doing live streams with youth from Tallinn or Valga. The goal is to help 2,500 young people who are disconnected from education or the labor market.
Online youth workers must be aware of regional networks to direct young people to local support services. So far, online youth work has been tested on a smaller scale, for example in Tartu.
Harno plans to spend 956,700 euros on this project. In Estonia, there are nearly 20,000 young people who need support to continue their studies or find work.