Mental Health Project 360 Algarve, an intervention involving 273 people, which aims to promote mental health among the elderly population, has already surpassed initial projections and demonstrated its importance. The project, which is financed by the Belmiro de Azevedo Foundation with the support of the municipalities of Faro, Loulé and Olhão, includes 600 activities and more than 500 psychosocial consultations.

It was determined that there was a need to promote mental health among the elderly community, specifically the most vulnerable after it was confirmed that there were individuals over 65 in a "situation of crisis" because of depression, anxiety, or other disorders. Therefore, Ricardo Valente, project manager and psychologist at the Platform ‘Saúde em Diálogo’, shared that the project's goal is to promote mental health among the elderly population.

The ‘Mental Health Project 360 Algarve’ project was developed with 11 partners, including associations and private social solidarity institutions, shared Ricardo Valente. The initiative came about as the result of an experience of a previous health literacy project, ‘Health Space 360 Algarve’, which identified mental health needs among the elderly population.

As Ricardo Valente explained, “So, in partnership, we, the Belmiro de Azevedo Foundation and the municipalities [Faro, Loulé and Olhão] developed a prevention and early intervention program in mental health for the elderly, that is, not only from a remedial perspective, but from a more preventive perspective, with a particular focus on depression - which is, let's say, the biggest problem -, on the cognitive decline - which happens, therefore, with ageing -, and on suicide prevention”.

With 273 users, within three municipalities since September, the objective is to "increase by at least 10% one of the dimensions of quality of life - physical, psychological, social, or environmental - and 10% in the scale of mental well-being in the population involved”.