Summer employment trial for young people to increase community spirit and well-being

We propose that the municipality of Tuusula launch a summer employment trial for young people, which would help them discover the joy of physical activity and thereby increase their sense of community and well-being. We propose that next summer, the municipality hire young people from Tuusula for summer jobs at local sports facilities and fields to organise regular, low-threshold physical activities that are open to all young people.

The young people employed would communicate about the activities on social media platforms popular with young people, act as peer mentors and encourage other young people to get involved in physical activity. This would give young people who do not have their own sports hobbies the opportunity to participate in low-threshold sports and socialise. The activities could include, for example, non-goal-oriented sports trials, recreational sports and playful competitions. The threshold for participation should be kept as low as possible. The

aim of the activities would be to encourage more young people in Tuusula to be more active in their everyday lives, find a suitable way to exercise, have positive, communal experiences and feel that they belong to a group. This would improve young people’s mental health and physical well-being and at the same time prevent them from feeling excluded. In addition, this would also support youth employment in our municipality. The results of the 2021 School Health Survey

commissioned by the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) show a worrying increase in feelings of inactivity, anxiety and loneliness among young people in grades 8–9. The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the existing challenges of physical inactivity and social exclusion. In addition, the summary of the Tuusula Municipality Well-being Report 2017-2021 compiles concerns from the results of the Tuusula Well-being Survey, which show that the number of children and young people who exercise for at least one hour a day has decreased between 2017-2019 and that moderate anxiety among young people has increased. There has been a decline in the sense of belonging to the community in both lower and upper secondary schools. This initiative is intended to address this welfare deficit.

The budget should be reasonable and the remuneration of young people should be motivating and engaging. The results of the initiative could potentially be offset in the future by, for example, a reduction in social and health care costs and an increase in the well-being of young people in our municipality. If the trial is successful, it could become an established practice every summer.

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