Upon accessing a mental health walk-in centre in the Netherlands, young people can share anything with trained peer counsellors. Arising subjects include feelings of loneliness and societal pressures, (livelihood) uncertainty, and feeling like one must manage everything alone without burdening others. In many ways, I feel that young people face a world that asks them to cope individually with problems that are collective and a context that is pathogenic. At @ease, young people experience that they are not alone, and have somewhere and someone to fall back on, also when traditional services have long waitlists or when it is hard to find connection in daily life. The peer counsellors actively listen and genuinely connect, often from lived experience. For many visitors and peer counsellors, @ease is a welcoming space in a world where community and shared humanity are found less often and are needed once again.

@ease sees young people with (emerging) mental health problems early on by making care accessible and gives them a positive first experience with support (rated 4.5/5) [4]. Many have not had previous care, despite care needs evident from initial distress levels and impairments. As young people visit @ease, their distress and functioning improve [4]. While the service can also help with accessing traditional care, the walk-in visits are often enough, which can reduce pressure on general practitioners and other services. Recently, the OECD also recognized @ease as best practice in mental health prevention and promotion [5]. Investing in such beneficial low-barrier support is an investment in a healthier society.