Youth Peer-to-Peer Ministry
Care begins with listening. Hope grows when we walk together.
Helping young people accompany one another with compassion, faith and practical skills — and recognise when it is time to reach out for further support.
Participating schools
- St. Joseph’s Convent, St. Joseph St. Joseph
- Holy Faith Convent, Penal Penal
- Corpus Christi College Diego Martin
- Holy Cross College Arima
A listening presence.
A caring community.
Young people often turn to a friend first. Our Youth Peer-to-Peer Ministry recognises the care already happening among students and helps give it structure, confidence and safe boundaries.
Rooted in faith and informed by an understanding of trauma, this approach brings spiritual reflection and emotional wellbeing together. It encourages students to listen without judgement, recognise distress and connect peers with appropriate support.
Recognise distress
Grow in awareness of emotional wellbeing and the unseen burdens a friend may be carrying.
Listen with compassion
Practise presence, listen before advising and respect safe boundaries while caring for yourself.
Help peers find support
Understand the helping role and the importance of connecting a friend with appropriate support.
Whole & Holy
A Lenten journey of faith, wellbeing and care for one another.
Our Spiritual Mental Health First Aid Lenten Retreat Series brought together 263 students across four Catholic secondary schools. The retreats offered space for prayer, introspection, compassion and self-care alongside practical learning about supporting peers.
Lenten reflection became a call to relational care: recognising that our spiritual lives and emotional wellbeing are connected, and that small acts of kindness and presence can make a difference in our school communities.
Building confidence.
Deepening understanding.
The retreat evaluation recorded gains in mental health literacy, suicide safety awareness and understanding of helping roles in most cohorts.
Learning that goes beyond numbers
In some cohorts, over 90% of students reported confidence in supporting peers. Students also demonstrated understanding of listening before advising, maintaining boundaries, avoiding harmful secrecy and practising self-care.
These findings relate to the February–March 2026 retreat series. Results varied across cohorts; they do not establish long-term outcomes.
Faith expressed through care.
Themes drawn from our retreat report and article, shared without identifying individual students.
Care is already happening.
Young people are already supporting friends through difficult moments. The retreats recognised that care and offered a clearer understanding of the responsibility it carries.
Presence matters.
Listening without judgement and knowing when to seek help emerged as central parts of accompanying another person.
Whole & holy belong together.
Prayer, compassion, self-care and responsibility for others connected the Lenten journey with everyday life in the school community.
Help care grow in our schools.
Bring the ministry to your school
Interested in exploring Youth Peer-to-Peer Ministry for your students? Contact our team to discuss your school’s needs and opportunities for engagement.
Donate or sponsor this programme
Help us extend opportunities for young people to learn, reflect and care for one another. Get in touch to discuss a donation or sponsorship specifically for Youth Peer-to-Peer Ministry.