The Augustinian Family on the Path to Mental Health

On October 9, 25 schools from the Order of Augustinian Recollects and the Order of Saint Augustine will come together for an educational, solidarity-based, and sports event aimed at raising awareness about the importance of mental health and strengthening a culture of listening, support, and care.

Walking together, listening to one another, supporting one another, and caring for one another. With this spirit, the EDUCAR Network joins “Always on the Path to Mental Health”, an initiative that will bring together the Augustinian Family on October 9, placing the emotional well-being of children, adolescents, and young people at the heart of the day.

The initiative, promoted by the Leadership Team of the Province of Saint John of Sahagún, was created as a project of ContinuaMente Acompañados, an association founded by Augustinian Fr. Isaac Estévez, OSA. Its purpose is to raise awareness about mental health within educational communities while encouraging concrete actions for prevention, listening, and support that can become an ongoing part of school life.

Running together, caring together

At the heart of the day will be a run or walk for mental health. Each student will be able to run or walk at their own pace, while each school will determine the route and number of laps according to the ages of its participants.

But this is not about finishing first. The initiative is not competitive; rather, it seeks to turn sport into a space for encounter and an opportunity to open up conversations about mental health. Students, teachers, and families will be able to participate in different ways, sharing a common message: caring for ourselves also means knowing how to listen, support one another, and ask for help when we need it.

The event will also have a solidarity component. Participants will be able to make a one-euro donation, which will go entirely to ContinuaMente Acompañados and its mental health prevention and awareness projects.

A Network that supports

This initiative also reflects a conviction deeply rooted in our Augustinian identity: No one is called to walk alone through what truly matters.

Friendship, community, and the shared search for truth are part of the spirituality of Saint Augustine. From this perspective, education is not only about supporting academic learning, but also about building communities where every person can feel welcomed, heard, and supported.

For this reason, the initiative seeks to foster an educational culture in which talking about emotional difficulties is not a source of shame, and where children and young people can find people and spaces in which they feel safe asking for help.

And the journey will not end on October 9. Throughout the school year, the initiative will be complemented by a national competition for best practices in mental health and emotional well-being, aimed at recognizing the actions developed by schools and helping transform awareness into lasting initiatives for prevention and support.

This October 9, we will walk and run together. Because caring for mental health also means building community. And within our Augustinian Family, we continue to learn that no truly important path needs to be walked alone.