Mental health is a global concern, but how it is experienced, understood, and addressed varies significantly from place to place. In Eastern Europe, stigma, under-resourced systems, and fragmented policies continue to limit access to care. For emerging adults (aged 18-30) navigating the transition from adolescence to adulthood—this often means falling through the cracks entirely.
In late 2024, we launched an Open Call for social enterprises and NGOs working to support the mental health of emerging adults across the region. We didn’t begin with certainty. We began with questions: Who is already doing the work? What support do they need to deepen or scale their impact? And how could we show up in a way that added value, without disrupting what’s already working?
Why Eastern Europe? A region where need is rising, and support systems are falling short
Our decision to focus on Eastern Europe was shaped by patterns we had observed—but also by a recognition of how much we still had to learn. What we did know and what became even more clear is that:
Stigma is high.
In many countries across the region, more than 50% of people still view mental illness as a personal failure rather than a medical condition (UNICEF, 2021). This belief system fuels shame, silence, and avoidance—and remains one of the most pervasive barriers to care.
Stigma doesn’t just delay help-seeking. It shapes whether mental health is even acknowledged, whether services are trusted, and whether institutions are willing to act. Its effects are particularly acute for young men, who are often socialized to suppress vulnerability, and LGBTI youth, who may face rejection or discrimination from family, peers, and service providers alike.
In this environment, even the availability of care isn’t enough. Unless mental health support is designed to be safe, affirming, and stigma-sensitive, many emerging adults simply won’t access it.
Systems are overstretched.
Mental health workforce shortages exceed 60% in several Eastern European countries (WHO, 2020). Outside capital cities, services are often fragmented, inconsistent, or absent — leaving many communities without access to even basic care. As a result, frontline organizations are stepping in to fill critical gaps, often without stable infrastructure or institutional support.
Economic precarity—high youth unemployment and fragile safety nets.
In parts of Eastern Europe, youth unemployment remains significantly above the EU average. For example, in Romania, the youth unemployment rate reached 22.5% in early 2024, compared to the EU average of 14.5% (Eurostat, 2024).
While economic precarity affects people of all ages, emerging adults are uniquely vulnerable. It fuels anxiety, erodes a sense of stability, and makes it harder to access or prioritize care during a life stage already defined by transition and uncertainty.
Funding is scarce.
Mental health continues to receive minimal public investment across the region. Most governments allocate less than 5% of total health budgets to mental health (OECD, 2023). At the same time, international donors are pulling back, with key funders like USAID exiting several Eastern European countries.
Private and philanthropic capital also remains unevenly distributed: Eastern Europe consistently receives a disproportionately small share of mental health funding compared to Western Europe (European Commission, 2022). The result is a fragmented ecosystem, where promising solutions exist, but oftentimes lack the sustained support to scale or endure.
Emerging adults are falling between systems.
Mental health systems across the region rarely include age-specific support for those aged 18–30. Too old for child services and not yet fully integrated into adult systems, emerging adults frequently find themselves in a structural care gap. This is especially true in settings shaped by conflict, migration, or economic hardship, where stressors are intensified, and formal support is even more limited.
What we set out to learn, and what we found
We launched our Open Call as a way to learn from those closest to the work. We received huge interest and a great number of applications, offering a view into a deeply challenged but rich innovation ecosystem.
Across submissions, we saw consistent themes:
- An emphasis on prevention
- growing use of peer-led care,
- a focus on mental health literacy,
- digital adaptation to bridge access gaps.
The selected 4 organisations
From this process, we selected four organizations for direct support. Each brings a different approach, but all are advancing models that are locally grounded, scalable, and responsive to the realities of emerging adults today:
The Social Incubator: Focusing on youth transitioning out of institutional care. The Social Incubator supports young people exiting Romania’s protection system with mental health support, mentorship, and job readiness. Their work addresses a structural gap with direct services and policy-level advocacy. With our support, they will expand therapy access and launch employer mental health training to tackle stigma in the workplace.
Centrul Social de Psihoterapie: A free psychotherapy model that scales digitally. CSP has created Romania’s largest pro bono therapist network. They are now launching a digital platform to bring therapy access to underserved communities, particularly in rural areas. The platform will double their reach while maintaining their model of inclusivity and clinical oversight.
Single Step Foundation: Mental health and inclusion for LGBTI youth. As Bulgaria’s only dedicated LGBTI+ mental health provider, Single Step offers peer programs, therapy, and a safe community space for young people experiencing isolation and discrimination. Our support will help stabilize their core team capacity and expand their impact nationally.
headspace Denmark: Volunteer-driven mental health support for young people. Building on headspace Denmark’s successful early-intervention model, headspace is supporting the implementation of mental health hubs across Ukraine, known as Youth Space 12-21. The focus is on rapid deployment, local ownership, and reducing stigma through volunteer-powered services. Our support will help in the scale-up of this project.
Each brings a different lens. Together, they’re addressing care gaps, stigma, and exclusion in ways that are both scalable and deeply embedded in local contexts.
What comes next?
Closing the mental health funding gap isn’t just about scaling individual organizations. It’s about shifting the system that supports them. Globally, mental health faces a $200 billion funding shortfall (United Global Mental Health). What we saw through this Open Call confirms what many already suspect: there is no shortage of leadership or community-rooted innovation. What’s missing is the coordinated, long-term investment to help these efforts reach their full potential.
At The Inner Foundation, we approach this through co-investment — working with aligned partners to provide capital that is flexible, patient, and grounded in impact. We believe that by joining forces — across philanthropy, catalytic finance, and development —mwe can lower perceived risk, unlock scale, and ensure that effective mental health solutions aren’t left behind.
Here’s how you can get involved:
Whether you’re a foundation, family office, development agency, or impact-focused funder, we invite you to stand alongside us. Mental health solutions are already in motion—but to realize their full potential, they need sustained, collaborative support that reaches beyond siloed funding or short-term interventions.
If you are a foundation, family office, development agency, or catalytic investor: we’d love to connect. You can:
📝 Share your interest via our co-investor form.
📩 Reach out directly to our team.
- Zakaria Hersi, Investment & Portfolio Manager at zakaria.hersi@theinnerfoundation.org
- Ebba Salén, Head of Communications & Engagement at ebba.salen@theinnerfoundation.org
About The Inner Foundation
The Inner Foundation is an independent, non-profit foundation based in Sweden, investing in intrapreneurs and entrepreneurs addressing mental health and diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) in society. As a catalytic hybrid finance investor, The Inner Foundation supports both for-profit and non-profit solutions, fostering impactful change through its diverse portfolio of 35+ investments spanning Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, and North America.
