General News
6 July, 2023
New program calls on community to deliver better mental health support for young people
More and more local youth are seeking emergency mental health care, and the ability to recognise and offer help to those in need is vital to address the issue in our community, education organisation Live4Life believes. Mental health issues are...

More and more local youth are seeking emergency mental health care, and the ability to recognise and offer help to those in need is vital to address the issue in our community, education organisation Live4Life believes.
Mental health issues are concerningly prevalent in young people in rural and regional areas with suicide rates, self-harm, anxiety and depression higher than metropolitan counterparts.
Statistics show that one in four young people have experienced a mental health issue in the past 12 months and more than 60 percent of young people attempting to find mental health support are unable to access a service.
There was a 74 percent increase in mental health related emergency presentations in the shire in youth aged 24 and under from 2016/17 to 2020/21.
More than half of these presentations were brought to public hospitals by ambulance, with 90 percent self-referring according to the Victorian Agency for Health Information.
The data highlights the need for greater youth mental health resources and support locally, something mental health education and youth suicide prevention organisation Live4Life is working to deliver.
“Ultimately what we’re trying to achieve in Central Goldfields is to wrap support around young people to ensure that they, and those that care for them, are able to recognise, seek and offer help for mental health concerns as they emerge,” Live4Life acting CEO Rebecca Morecroft said.
“Live4Life is about building the capacity of youth to speak up and support each other, but also the adults around them — whether that’s school staff, parents or sporting coaches.
“Issues relating to mental health for young people are not going away and this type of approach is really trying to provide the community with tools to support young people.”
Designed specifically for rural and regional communities, Live4Life is an award-winning mental health education and youth suicide prevention model active in 10 communities, including Central Goldfields.
It delivers teen and youth mental health first aid training in schools and the wider community and creates local partnerships to lead conversations about mental health to reduce stigma in a bid to build the capacity of the whole community to support young people.
Since the model began its rollout in Central Goldfields earlier in the year, 29 local adults, teachers and school staff have received Youth Mental Health First Aid Training, with a vision for hundreds more in the community to take part.
It builds on a long-standing push from the Central Goldfields Shire Council to establish a youth hub in Maryborough, as well as attract youth mental health foundation headspace to establish a permanent service locally.
Live4Life began in the Macedon Ranges in 2010 and since then, has trained one in five residents in mental health education.
In 2021, Central Goldfields was chosen to be a Live4Life community due to the collective efforts of council, local schools and health organisations who recognised the need for more support for young people in the shire.
Live4Life project officer Shelley Feilding said the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing strains on youth mental health.
“Youth mental health and wellbeing of young people in our shire has been a priority for a number of years and council, services and schools have been working together in this space for quite some time,” she said.
“The application for us to be involved in Live4Life came off the back of local data both during and post COVID, as well as previous conversations we’d had with young people as well.
“There is a collective drive to support young people, from teachers and staff within schools and people within the broader community, and a real recognition of the importance of providing support to our young people.
“I’ve been working in this community for a long time and for me, it’s very exciting to see we have proven, evidence-based initiatives that will support our local youth.”
If you or a loved one need support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, Beyond Blue on 1800 512 348 or webchat www.beyondblue.org.au/support-service/chat, or the Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800 or via webchat at kidshelpline.com.au