UNICEF and partners mark a milestone achievement of over 46,000 people reached through peer support volunteers across Armenia

YEREVAN, 20 January, 2026  - UNICEF Armenia, with support of the Afeyan Foundation and in partnership with the Parenting School NGO, has completed the nationwide expansion of its peer support volunteers (PSV) programme, significantly strengthening community-based psychosocial support for children, adolescents, and families across Armenia, including refugees. The organization marked the completion of this work with a closing ceremony in Yerevan.

Since its launch as a pilot in 2020 in Syunik, Vayots Dzor, and Gegharkunik, the PSV programme has responded to the increasing need for locally-rooted support to address loss, trauma and prolonged stress among youth and families. Peer support volunteers played a central role in providing access to psychosocial support by forming clubs, organizing safe spaces and group activities, and offering ongoing support to children, adolescents and parents. Their work fostered resilience, strengthened social connections, and promoted social cohesion in communities affected by displacement and adversity.

With support from the Afeyan Foundation and in coordination with its local organization, the Afeyan Initiatives for Armenia (AIFA), UNICEF expanded the programme in 2024 to enable trained peer support volunteers to reach communities at unprecedented scale. 

Thanks to their efforts, the programme reached directly and indirectly over 200 professionals, 26,132 parents, and 20,477 adolescents - an unprecedented scale for such an initiative.

“Through these efforts, adolescents were given something invaluable: a safe space to discover their strengths, build resilience, and speak in their own voices. These skills will stay with them and empower them to navigate relationships and challenges with confidence and empathy. Professionals and parents, too, strengthened their capacities, building supportive networks that reinforce family and community wellbeing,” noted Mrs Christine Weigand, UNICEF Representative in Armenia. “This partnership shows how impact multiplies when individuals take what they have learned and share it with others. What begins with one person, grows into lasting change across families, schools, and communities.”

“The Peer Support Volunteers programme demonstrates how investing in people – especially in children and adolescents – can create ripple effects of resilience, connection, and care,” said Anna Afeyan, Trustee of the Afeyan Foundation. “We are encouraged by the impact of this initiative, which has reached many across Armenia and will continue to strengthen families and communities long after its conclusion.”

The Parenting School team emphasized the deep community connections formed through the programme: “It is both deeply moving and a great responsibility for us that over the course of 16 months, we have been able to support 46,809 adolescents and parents throughout Armenia through group sessions, trainings, parent-to-parent support workshops, and by consistently providing everyone with psychoeducational materials in Armenian,” said Mrs Lusine Aghabekyan, Director for content and development at Parenting School NGO. “What is especially encouraging is that we succeeded in forming parent communities that will continue to support one another even after the programme has ended, sharing experiences and knowledge, staying engaged in continuous learning, and contributing to the development of their communities.” 

The ceremony was concluded with awarding certificates to 59 newly trained peer support volunteer specialists. In addition to the efforts to establish peer support volunteer networks across the country, UNICEF, with the support of the Afeyan Foundation, is working to provide refugee and host community adolescents with other positive pathways and methods to rebuild their lives, such as visual storytelling, engagement in theatre and music as therapeutic tools. By September, UNICEF will also launch an online platform for adolescents to access mental health support in a safe way. In 2026, UNICEF will work towards transforming the locally set-up parenting clubs into community-based hubs, to ensure the sustainability and institutionalization of these efforts.