Launching the new Changemakers Community of Practice
This new Community of Practice (CoP) focused on Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing will unite Family for Every Child members and stakeholders dedicated to enhancing children's emotional wellbeing and family resilience.
The CoP will promote collaboration by sharing trauma-informed practices, strengthening members' abilities in mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS), and integrating mental health into key priority themes such as migration, kinship care, the prevention of sexual violence, and climate justice. The vision is a global network in which mental health is integrated into child protection systems, ensuring safety and support for all children and caregivers.
About the webinar
To kick-start the CoP, we have invited the Family member Associação Brasileira Terra dos Homens (ABTH) to share their participatory approach to supporting the mental health of children, adolescents and families in Duque de Caxias, Brazil.
ABTH uses a holistic, participatory approach that integrates Narrative Practices, Social Pedagogy inspired by Paulo Freire, and expressive arts to support mental health and well-being. Through storytelling, creative expression, and dialogue, children, adolescents, and families are supported to make sense of their experiences, externalise challenges, and recognise their strengths, values, and support networks.
ABTH's work creates safe, consistent spaces for reflection, emotional expression, and critical thinking, while also strengthening relationships within families and communities. Grounded in active listening and a psychosocial perspective, ABTH’s approach promotes autonomy, resilience, and collective care by engaging young people, caregivers, and wider protection networks in meaningful, transformative processes.
Speakers
Beatriz Matos is a communications specialist and journalist working in social project coordination and institutional communication. She facilitates learning with adolescents in Complexo da Mangueirinha, using communication to strengthen relationships, promote rights, and encourage youth expression. Her work is grounded in active listening and a strong belief in communication as a tool for social change.
Karla K. is a facilitator at Centro Comunitário Terra dos Homens, supporting adolescents and families in vulnerable contexts. With training in politics, administration, and human rights, she leads socio-educational activities that strengthen relationships, promote youth development, and support mental health through active listening and care.
Mafê Ribeiro Bomfim Silva is a writer, educator, and facilitator at Associação Brasileira Terra dos Homens. She supports children and adolescents through educational activities and individualised care, while also engaging in the cultural scene as a poet and producer, celebrating Afro-Brazilian culture through her work.
At the date and time of the webinar, join us at: https://familyforeverychild-org.zoom.us/j/85070945022
This webinar will be hosted in English, with Spanish and Portuguese interpretation. To request interpretation into other languages, please email [email protected] or comment below.
Join our Community of Practice!
The new community connects professionals committed to strengthening children’s emotional well-being and family resilience. It recognises mental health as foundational to child protection, family-based care, and long-term resilience, particularly in contexts affected by conflict, displacement, climate crises, poverty, and violence.
We envision a global network driven by practitioners’ knowledge and locally led solutions, where mental health and emotional well-being are fully integrated into child protection and family care systems, and ensuring children and caregivers feel safe, connected, supported, and capable of coping with adversity.