Mental health includes our emotional, psychological and social well-being. It affects the way we think, feel and act. Mental health is important at every stage of life - from childhood and adolescence to adulthood.

The psychologists from the IOM Bulgaria team continue to provide much-needed psychological support under the project "Providing social and psychological support to asylum seekers in Bulgaria", funded by the National Program of Bulgaria under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund "2014-2020 .

The main goal of the project is to provide social and psychological support to persons seeking international protection in the phase of initial adaptation with special attention to the needs of vulnerable individuals. In this process, it is particularly important to prepare an initial vulnerability assessment, identify vulnerable people and provide targeted social and psychological support;

Special attention is paid to the work with unaccompanied asylum-seeking minors, taking into account their specific needs and the need for specialized assistance. The support by IOM is provided mainly on the territory of the ROC Sofia - Voenna Rampa and the ROC Sofia - Ovcha Kupel as well as the ROC Harmanli.

Among the project activities are individual consultations, vulnerability assessment sessions, conducting information sessions, introduction to the culture of Bulgaria, referring beneficiaries to a psychiatrist, purchasing drugs and more.

Since the beginning of the project, 3,082 consultations have been held, and the leading countries of origin of the beneficiaries are Afghanistan and Syria, but there are also people from Pakistan, Iraq and other countries. Over 90% of the beneficiaries are men, and many of them fall into the group of vulnerable people.

For the first quarter of 2022, 549 persons were consulted, of which 251 were unaccompanied minors seeking international protection.

The Safety zones are managed within the framework of the project "“Support for asylum seekers in Bulgaria” funded by the National Program of Bulgaria under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund 2014-2020.