General News
29 February, 2024
Training having a real impact
The Central Goldfields Shire Council is partnering with Live4Life to provide youth mental health training to residents in an attempt to supply needed support. Live4Life is a health promotion charity which aims to support rural and regional...
The Central Goldfields Shire Council is partnering with Live4Life to provide youth mental health training to residents in an attempt to supply needed support.
Live4Life is a health promotion charity which aims to support rural and regional communities and their young people by improving accessability to support, and increase the mental health knowledge of the community.
The course will equip participants with the knowledge and skills to provide courses to other adults in the community, and complement Live4Life’s work in local schools delivering Junior and Senior Teen Mental Health First Aid to years eight and 10 students.
In 2023, Live4Life educated 87 year eight students from Highview College, Maryborough Education Centre and the Central Goldfields Youth Alliance as well as 30 adults.
Highview College’s year eight head of school Bridget Wilson said the program has already made a positive impact on student wellbeing.
“The great part about this program is that it’s designed to be a safety blanket that surrounds everyone in the community but mostly the young people,” she said.
“Last year we rolled out the program to all our year eights in Maryborough and then this year we are also rolling it out to our year 10s who do senior teen mental health first aid as well.
“When students complete this course, their mental health literacy increases which is really important.
“We saw last year students were more likely to seek help following on from completing the course, and felt safer talking about problems that their friends might have been having.”
Beyond Blue found one in seven young people aged four to 17 experience a mental health condition in any given year, and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare states suicide is the leading cause of death among Australians aged 15–24.
These issues are more prevalent in young people in rural and regional areas with suicide rates, self-harm, anxiety and depression higher than metropolitan counterparts.
A key barrier in Maryborough for mental health support is lack of accessability, with the closest face-to-face mental health services located in Ballarat and Bendigo.
The 2021 census found nearly 15 percent of Maryborough residents suffer from a long-term mental health condition, a more than six percent increase compared to the rest of the state.
Ms Wilson said continued community involvement is needed to support the future generation.
“In regional towns, particularly in Maryborough, services with mental health are next to zero and then access and waitlists are really poor for Ballarat and Bendigo,” she said.
“The ultimate goal is to reduce the amount of suicides experienced by young people, so that is why we are so invested in it and we hope it becomes a sustainable part of what we do in the central goldfields.”
Central Goldfields Shire Council mayor Liesbeth Long said council’s partnership with Live4Life is vital in reducing those barriers.
“The more adults in the community we can have trained as Youth Mental Health First Aid Instructors, the better we can support our young people,” she said.
“Kids in regional areas often face different kinds of crises, which is why having a local, targeted program like Live4Life is so important for our community.
“Traumas such as floods and this week’s fire threats can be really unsettling for the young too. Building mental health awareness and resilience in young people through the Live4Life program and delivery of youth mental health first aid training to adults in the community can equip the whole of community with tools to address the mental health impacts of such events.
Applications for Mental Health First Aid Instructor training close today. For more information, visit www.centralgoldfields.vic.gov.au.
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