Half of mental disordes start before the age of 14, with approximately 1 in every 5 children, adolescents, and young individuals being diagnosed with a mental disorder (PAHO, 2020). In Latin America and the Caribbean, there are 230 million young people, making the population of 10 to 24-year-olds the largest in the continent´s history, and it is projected to decrease by 2030 (PAHO,2018). The COVID-19 pandemic has placed an even grater emphasis on the need to promote mental health issues and ensure access to mental health programs for all individuals, with a particular focus on youth.

The program is based on a preventive approach, aiming to empower youth through peer-led interventions and using a community-based approach to address these issues. It tackles topics such as self-care, emotional education, stress, depression, anxiety, among others, with the goal of improving mental health and preventing mental health problems. The purpose of “Lift Up!” is to contribute to the improvement of mental health and the prevention of mental health issues among youth through awareness and destigmatization: “talking to know, knowing to understand, and understanding to prevent.”