Psychosocial Activities
Conflict, natural disasters, severe exploitation, and other threatening situations can alter a community's trust, security and sense of hope or confidence.  Save the Children's psychosocial programs seek to build on children's resiliency and natural ability to recover while limiting the long-term effects of these events.  We prioritize programs that encourage the development of pro-social behaviors for children, including enhanced self-esteem, hope, and a sense of self-efficacy.  We also work with caregivers to ensure that they have the support they need in order to care for their children.

Read more on Save the Children Assisting in the Development of International Guidelines to Improve Psychological Assistance in Emergencies

Safe Spaces
Safe Spaces are one of Save the Children's key programmatic interventions to protect children during the acute response phase of an emergency or in areas of continuing crisis.  Safe Spaces are initiated through rapid support to communities to provide physical safety, psychosocial activities and educational assistance for children.  Safe Spaces take many different forms depending upon the emergency.  They can be located under trees, tents, in schools, or any available space. If Safe Spaces are needed for a longer period of time, more semi-permanent structures are established.   In many cases, Safe Spaces activities eventually transition into formal schooling, after school recreational activities, early childhood development and youth programs, and community social events.  

The rapid implementation of Safe Spaces provide routines, relationships and an environment that evidence suggests can mitigate the impact of crisis on children.  Safe Spaces are not psychiatric counseling or group therapy but are focused on fostering children’s natural resiliency and coping mechanisms that can vary from child to child.  Save Spaces work with children in constructive ways, drawing on their own resilience and on the strengths and assets of their communities.  Under the supervision of a caring adult, these Safe Spaces provide children a safe environment in which they can play, socialize, learn life saving information and express themselves.  By participating in arts and crafts, games, cooperative learning, team building activities, drama, and structured educational lessons and sports, children are helped to come to terms with their experiences.