Queen Maxima stresses importance of sports for youth mental health

Take control of your mental health

Committed to the mental health of young people, MIND Us works in all three living environments of this target group of young people. Sport and exercise fall within the important area of ​​‘neighbourhood and leisure’; from the best sports to simply kicking a ball around with friends and youth workers on an urban sports field.

“MIND Us wants young people to be able to take control of their mental health, develop resilience and know how to get help when needed. Sport provides relaxation, but it also teaches young people to work together and deal with setbacks. Unfortunately, young people who play sport also face a lot of pressure to perform. Especially if role models talk about this and are vulnerable about their mental health, we can inspire many young people,” believes Frederic Friends, director of MIND Us.

“This working visit has shown us that if we join forces at MIND Us around sport and mental health, we can have a huge impact on young people. It is great to see how important the role of sport is. I am impressed by the initiatives they have put forward and how they fit into the living environment of young people, and we continue to bring together different worlds, perspectives and initiatives to promote young people’s mental health and to enhance everyone’s role in this.”